Pitt Hosts Sept. 23 Guest Lecture by Pa. Secretary of Environmental Protection Regarding Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling Regulations

PITTSBURGH—Secretary John Hanger, head of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), will discuss current and potential state regulations of gas drilling related to the Marcellus Shale natural gas deposit during a presentation to University of Pittsburgh students Sept. 23. 

Secretary Hanger will speak as a guest lecturer for the Issues in Environmental Policy class, part of the Environmental Studies Program in Pitt’s Department of Geology and Planetary Science, from 1 to 2:20 p.m. in Room 129, Victoria Hall, 3500 Victoria St., Oakland. Media are invited to attend this event, but it is not open to the public. 

In order to allow students the opportunity to ask questions, reporters are asked to hold their questions until after the lecture. Secretary Hanger will be available to speak with media afterward, until 2:50 p.m. 

Media planning to attend the lecture or the media availability should RSVP to Pitt News Representative Morgan Kelly by noon Sept. 23. Please contact Helen Humphreys, DEP communications director, to schedule a one-on-one interview before or after the lecture and media availability. 

Founded in 1996, the School of Arts and Sciences’ Environmental Studies Program is an interdisciplinary major that equips students with an understanding of earth systems and the impact of humans on the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. Program graduates have gone on to careers in government, industry, advocacy, enforcement, education, law, and international policy. More information is available on Pitt’s Web site at www.pitt.edu/~esweb. 

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