The hot afternoon that was nudging 100 degrees in the city was "an object lesson showing us the value of this resource," which burns cleaner than oil and coal, he added.
This region in particular, where cars contribute heavily to ground-level ozone, or smog, "has a lot to gain from the gas that is available in terms of clean air," he said.
The hearing was held by the state House Democratic Policy Committee, chaired by State Rep. Mike Sturla of Lancaster County, who said afterward that he found Krancer "impressive. I think he's sincere about what he wants to do. . . . If his boss allows him to do his job, that's half the battle."
The dozen legislators who attended questioned him about a severance tax on drillers, about stronger regulations, and about whether he had the budget to do the job.
"Everybody testifies there's never been an incident" of drinking water contaminated with fluids from the hydraulic-fracturing process, "but we haven't done it in this geology, and it's not 25 years from now," Sturla said. "Nobody had ever found acid mine drainage in the first 25 years of coal-mining, either. Some of this stuff takes time."
Others who testified were Michael Wood, research director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center; Preston Lutweiler, chief environmental officer of Aqua America; and Jan Jarrett, president of PennFuture.
Krancer's remarks were much the same on Wednesday night, when he participated in a shale forum hosted by the Academy of Natural Sciences organized by the Clean Air Council.
Joseph O. Minott, executive director of the council, called natural gas drilling the major economic, environmental, and public health issue in Pennsylvania today.
"To date, I have not been impressed with industry's acknowledgment of the impact its activities are having on public health and the environment," he said.
