U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts and a dozen other members of the state's congressional delegation are urging President Barack Obama to leave regulation of the booming natural-gas drilling industry to individual states.

The lawmakers, in a letter to senior White House economic adviser Gene Sperling, say the "economic benefits of shale gas to ordinary citizens" are being overlooked as environmental regulators study the impact of hydraulic fracturing, the procedure used to extract natural gas from the earth.

"The existence of shale gas in the United States, coupled with the technological achievements that have made its production possible, present a tremendous economic opportunity for our nation," the letter states.

"It is our view that the states are in the best position to regulate the activity, given that the types of fracturing operations, local priorities, and environmental concerns vary widely among the regions in which hydraulic fracturing is used," the letter, dated Oct. 13, says.

Pitts spokesman Andrew Wimer said the congressman signed the letter to impress upon the Obama administration the positive impact the industry is having on the nation's fragile economic recovery and to discourage any new federal regulations that might dampen further job-creation. Pitts, a Republican from Chester County, represents Lancaster County in the 16th Congressional District.

The Environmental Protection Agency is studying fracking but has not issued any new regulations. The agency isn't expected to disclose the results of its research until the end of next year at the earliest.

Jan Jarrett, the president and chief executive officer of PennFuture, one of Pennsylvania's largest environmental advocacy groups, said having some federal regulations would be beneficial — specifically water quality, erosion and air and gas emissions.

"I think (the industry) does need some flexibility to address the conditions on the ground that are very, very different in different states," she said. "The industry faces difficult topographies and geologies.

"But I think it might be appropriate for the EPA to step in and set some floors, minimum standards that the gas drilling industry needs to meet," Jarrett said.

The lawmakers, in making their case for no federal regulations, cite a July report prepared by Penn State and University of Wyoming researchers and paid for by the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a trade association for the gas companies.

The report claims development in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region was responsible for $11.2 billion to the economic output of the state, $1.1 billion in state and local tax revenue and some 140,000 jobs.

The report said energy companies are "poised" to invest more than $12.8 billion on further development in the state and will be responsible for the creation of more than 256,420 "good paying" jobs by 2020.

The letter was signed by Pitts and 12 other members of the House delegation, including Democratic U.S. Reps. Jason Altmire, Mark Critz and Tim Holden. The other Republican House members are U.S. Reps. Lou Barletta, Charlie Dent, Mike Fitzpatrick, Mike Kelly, Tom Marino, Patrick Meehan, Tim Murphy, Todd Platts and Bill Shuster.

tmurse@lnpnews.com