Forest Drilling

The U.S. Forest Service will go through and allow public comment on gas and oil drilling projects. This comment will be in the Allegheny National Forest under a settlement reached with groups. The groups claimed in a lawsuit that the Forest Service was not required. Federal environmental reviews on several dozen drilling projects was damaging the environment and wildlife. The damage was in Pennsylvania's only national forest."With this settlement the Forest Service is making a commitment to disclose to people living near the Allegheny National Forest what impact oil and gas drilling will have on water quality, recreational opportunities, and the other benefits they expect from the national forest in their backyard," Andy Stahl, executive director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, said in a statement Thursday. The 800 square mile forest. The federal government owns the surface. The surface is more than 90 percent. The government did not buy the mineral when the forest was made somewhere around 90 years ago. There were arguments over whether the Forest Service can stop the drilling. This would have led to lawsuits as demand for oil. This is all I know.