Though a boon to the local economy, a natural gas drilling project in Sullivan County may have some environmentally harmful side effects, according to the Times Herald-Record [1].

Sullivan CountyMany landowners in Sullivan County [2] have recently signed lease agreements to allow gas companies to drill on their property, and many more have been solicited. Such offers can translate into $10,000 a month in royalties.

But drill rigs cutting through subterranean shale might pollute groundwater and reduce air quality. After welcoming similar oil drilling that is being proposed in the Catskills, the small town of Boulder, Wyoming, experienced a spike in ozone levels. Boulder's once-clean air is now tainted with yellow smog emitted by trucks and the diesel engines that power the drilling rigs.