Matzie introduces bills on quake insurance, fracking near reservoirs

Beaver County Times (PA)

Sept. 26--State Rep. Rob Matzie has introduced two long-planned bills to address fracking near dams or reservoirs and insurance coverage of earthquakes regardless of their cause.

Matzie, D-16, Ambridge, introduced House Bills 2365 and 2366 on Thursday. He began circulating in February a co-sponsor memo about a bill ensuring homeowners' earthquake riders are covered no matter what caused tremors and last month discussed his proposal to prohibit unconventional drilling, otherwise known as fracking, within 4,000 feet of a dam or reservoir.

House Bill 2365 would require insurance companies to cover earthquakes that are both "naturally occurring" and caused by "human activity," including seismic testing to find natural gas deposits. State Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-10, Franklin Township, is a co-sponsor on the bill, which was referred to the House Committee on Insurance.

Previously, Matzie said he was pursuing the legislation after constituents in Hopewell Township complained that seismic testing shook their homes and caused damages that were not covered under typical homeowner policies and which the testing company denied.

Matzie asked the state Insurance Department to investigate and in April 2015 Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller told insurers that earthquake riders on Pennsylvania homeowner policies "should cover all earthquakes, whether believed to be 'naturally occurring' or caused by 'human activity.'"

His bill would simply codify Miller's directive and ensure that future commissioners could not reverse it, Matzie has said.

Earthquake riders, Matzie told colleagues, can be purchased for between 15 cents and 65 cents per $1,000 of coverage depending on specifics in a policy.

House Bill 2366 would implement the ban on drilling near dams and reservoirs, such as the Ambridge Reservoir in Independence and Raccoon townships, which is held back by an earthen dam.

It would also ban unconventional gas wells within 2,000 horizontal feet of existing water wells, surface water intake intake or water supply extraction point used by water purveyors, such as public utilities, municipalities and water companies, without their permission.

A sizable portion of Matzie's constituents rely on water from the Ambridge Reservoir and many have expressed concerns about the impact of fracking on the water supply. House Bill 2366 is co-sponsored by state Rep. Jim Marshall, R-14, Big Beaver, and was referred to the House Committee on Environmental Resources and Energy.

Matzie's bill stemmed from a report he read by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a dam in Texas in which it determined that a 3,000-foot no-drilling zone around the dam was insufficient and should be increased to 4,000 feet.

"I am grateful for the expert analysis of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as it will help us ensure that the proper protections are in place so no unintended harm comes to our citizens or our communities," Matzie said in a statement.

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