Allan, who served as DCNR Secretary since 2011, spent much of his career in the scrap metal industry. His family runs Allan Industries, a scrap metal company in Wilkes Barre, and Allan served as executive director for the PA Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.
During Allan's tenure at DCNR, Marcellus shale hydraulic fracturing operations in Pennsylvania continued to expand. Over 3500 new unconventional wells were drilled in the commonwealth since March 2011.
Recently DCNR was criticized for organizing an invitation-only meeting in April to discuss whether to allow Anadarko Petroleum to access mineral rights the company owns underneath the Loyalsock State Forest in Lycoming County. After public outcry DCNR held one public hearing on the issue on June 4th. That meeting was attended by several hundred people, many of whom expressed their opposition to Andarko's plan to drill on the land.
Governor Corbett, one of the most unpopular governors in the country, named Ellen Ferretti, Deputy Secretary for Parks and Forestry, as Acting Secretary. Corbett is expect to fill the position with a gas industry insider.