Drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale of northern and western Pennsylvania has enriched individual landowners and transformed the economy of entire towns.

Drilling in the Marcellus Shale also has polluted drinking water supplies and ruined farmland.

Drillers and many of Pennsylvania's state and local government officials like to emphasize the positive aspects of drilling.

Environmentalists and an increasing number of Pennsylvania homeowners who don't want to see methane-gas-fed flames shooting from their spigots are more concerned about the negatives.

So far, the drillers have done things their way, with minimal guidance from the state's Department of Environmental Protection.

But that may change following completion of a report last week by Gov. Corbett's advisory panel on drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

The panelists, stacked in favor of the industry and Corbett administration supporters, nevertheless voted in favor of doubling civil penalties for drillers who don't comply with DEP regulations.

The panel also recommended that the state Department of Health collect health data on those who live within a mile of drilling sites.

These and other positive recommendations may or may not make it beyond the governor's desk. We hope they do. This relatively new industry must be carefully monitored.

And we hope the governor splits his vote on the two most important panel findings.

The panel recommended a drilling-impact fee. After drillers make a mess of farms and roads, they would have to repair the damage. That's only fair.

Actually, it's more than fair, considering that Corbett would not permit the panel to consider a tax on drilling &tstr; a measure that most states with natural gas supplies already have imposed.

The panel also recommended "pooling," a practice that allows a drilling company to force holdout landowners to lease their gas rights under certain circumstances.

Corbett opposes "pooling" and is likely to toss out the panel's recommendation. He is correct: property rights should come first.

In fact, Corbett has explained that he opposes a tax on drilling because the drillers wanted pooling in exchange. He doesn't like the tradeoff.

Instead, make drilling companies pay for negative impacts their processes have on the environment. Double-fine drillers if they don't follow regulations. Monitor the health of residents.

Except for the pooling recommendation, the panel seems to have provided sound suggestions.

Now the governor and legislature must do their part to ensure that natural gas extraction doesn't cause problems we all could be paying for many years after the drillers leave the state.