Property Owners Contact PA Legislators:
New Budget Proposal Threatens More State Lands for Gas Drillers;
Raids Oil & Gas Lease Fund, Stripping DCNR of Funding;
Instead, Pass Severance Tax on Extraction of Gas
“Our voices will not be muffled by the loud ring of the moneyed natural gas companies,” is the battle cry of Eileen Juico, member of the Chester County Pipeline Task Force. Chester County, Pennsylvania, is the site of extensive natural gas pipeline activity.
Revolving Door Between Government & Energy Industry
Her battle cry is to the point as the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (October 7) that the deputy chief of staff for Governor Rendell is stepping down to join Range Resources Corporation as VP of government relations and regulatory affairs for the Texas-based company that has “a major drilling stake in Pennsylvania,” according to the Inquirer.
In the meantime, Ms. Juico and Task Force members are mobilizing property owners to contact key members of the Pennsylvania House and Senate to urge them to oppose a budget amendment that would permit leasing additional state forest lands for gas drilling.
At the same time, this proposal would raid Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Lease fund, effectively stripping the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) of funding to manage and upgrade Pennsylvania’s parks and forests.
Currently, more than 600,000 acres of state forest land are already available for leasing, according to Ms. Juico. This particular budget proposal would require the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to lease an additional 200,000 acres for natural gas drilling. It is seen as one way to boost state revenue in order to help reduce Pennsylvania’s huge budget deficits.
Task Force Recommendations
Ms. Juico, however, notes both fiscal and environmental concerns. “The amount of revenue raised from additional leasing will not generate significant funding for the budget, but it runs the risk of exposing the Commonwealth and its citizens to substantial environmental costs,” she added.
In her view, such leasing is in direct conflict with the mission of DCNR “to conserve and sustain Pennsylvania’s natural resources.”
Even more troubling, this budget proposal would eliminate the Oil and Gas Lease Fund, stripping DCNR of funding to manage and sustain Pennsylvania’s parks and forests. Instead, lease revenues would go directly and permanently to the General Fund (where it could more easily be spent on all manner of government pork projects).
Legislators who oppose this proposal recall Pennsylvania’s history with coal.
For example, House Game and Fisheries Committee Chairman Ed Staback, D-Lackawanna/Wayne, said in a press release last month (emphasis added):
“Living in the Northeast, every day I see the remnants of the rush to get natural resources out of the ground. Without ironclad guarantees for reclaiming efforts and expenses coming from the gas companies, our state forests could be left with dangerous holes dotting the land, retaining ponds full of polluted water, and abandoned sheds, buildings and well structures.”
Ms. Juico advocates an alternative budget proposal she believes is more fiscally and environmentally responsible.
“We support a severance tax on natural gas drilling. In other words, tax the extraction of natural gas.”
“Pennsylvania Senate Bill 997 would institute a severance tax on natural gas drilling and earmark a portion of those revenues for local governments directly impacted by the Marcellus Shale gas drilling and the construction of natural gas pipelines,” she said.
Instead of leasing more state forest lands to gas drilling operations and stripping the DCNR of funding to do its job, she points out that a severance tax is a better alternative.
“A severance tax on the extraction of natural gas is a customary start-up cost for natural gas companies throughout this nation,” she said. “It will not deter these companies from seeking the lucrative profits that the Marcellus Shale offers.”
What Property Owners Know
In Pennsylvania, among other states, energy companies are becoming more active due to the potential of profitable recovery of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.
Growing emphasis on natural gas means more underground storage fields, more pipelines and more eminent domain actions that involve the seizure of private property rights. Meanwhile, incidents of water pollution are surfacing across the state in connection with increased drilling and storage of gas in underground formations (through the use of injection wells).
Property owners who have experienced any of these issues know three things:
Gas migrates underground which can create unexpected problems.
Toxic chemicals are used in drilling or injection (storage) operations.
The revolving door between government and the energy industry (e.g., Governor Rendell’s deputy chief of staff joining Range Resources) underscores the fact that citizens and landowners must act as an industry/government watch group to ensure that the public interest is represented and protected.
Call to Action
To that purpose, Ms. Juico urges landowners to contact key legislators immediately and urge them to:
Oppose forcing the DCNR to lease additional state forest land for gas drilling (and raiding the Oil & Gas Lease Fund).
Instead, support a severance or extraction tax on the recovery of natural gas that would include revenues for local governments impacted by natural gas drilling and the construction of pipelines.
In addition to your own local state legislators, here are three critical contacts to make:
Senator Dominic Pileggi, Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader
Harrisburg Office: 717-787-4712
Toll free: 888-984-3478.
E-mail: dpileggi@pasen.gov
Senator Jake Corman, Chair of Appropriations Committee
Harrisburg Office: 717-787-1377
Senator Joe Scarnati, Lieutenant Governor & President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate
Harrisburg Office: 717-787-7084