Budget Battles Show Absolute Need for Tax on Marcellus Shale Drilling
Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) expressed a deep sense of relief that the state budget adopted today did not call for wholesale drilling in the state forests, as early budget plans called for.
“Thanks to an incredibly heroic team of legislators, damage to our state forests will be minimal, for now,” said Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of PennFuture. “We have been waging the fight for the state forests since March, when the House Republican Energy Task Force proposed to open up large portions of Pennsylvania’s state forests to massive Marcellus Shale drilling, instead of charging a severance tax on all drilling in the Commonwealth. Today, we won the fight, temporarily.
“The legislators who led the fight, despite all odds, truly define the term ‘public servant,’” said Jarrett. “First and foremost, Representative Dave Levdansky (D-Allegheny, Washington) was a visionary leader. He held steadfast and was indefatigable. Other legislators who also fought for the forests, on the floor and behind caucus doors, include Steve Santarsiero (D-Bucks), Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery), John Siptroth (D-Monroe), Barbara McIlvaine Smith (D-Chester), David Kessler (D-Berks), Tom Houghton (D-Chester), Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), Michael Hanna (D-Centre), Edward Staback (D-Lackawanna), Bud George (D-Clearfield), Robert Freeman (D-Northampton) and Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery). Together, they stopped the plan to sell off huge amounts of our public lands to the multi-national drilling industry, and they saved the Oil and Gas Lease Fund.
“Unfortunately, this is only a partial victory, and dangerous times lie ahead,” continued Jarrett. “The General Assembly’s failure to adopt a severance tax on drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation - in the face of more than $1 million in lobbying costs by the industry - means that the people of Pennsylvania will continue to pay the price for the drilling with no compensation for the loss of our natural assets. With the Rainy Day Fund now depleted, nearly one out of 10 Pennsylvanians unemployed, and costs of government services increasing, it is the height of irresponsibility that our senators and representatives refused the new revenue from a severance tax similar to that charged in every other major gas producing state.
“We have no way of knowing when our economy will rebound,” said Jarrett. “But we are letting revenue slip through our fingers as the drillers proceed without a severance tax. Unless we want to see ourselves in exactly same standoff in next budget cycle, the state Senate and House need to enact a severance tax in next year’s budget at the beginning of the process. We cannot afford to bail out multi-billion dollar corporations while our citizens are hurting.”
PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization, founded in 1998. Working from the premise that “Every environmental victory grows the economy,” PennFuture successfully advocated for landmark environmental legislation, including passage of the largest ever environmental funding bond, passage of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, funding for green energy and energy efficiency, adoption of the Clean Vehicles Program, passage of the law requiring a statewide climate change action plan, and adoption of a regulation that protects babies from mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. PennFuture has staff throughout the state, in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, West Chester, Doylestown, and Wilkes-Barre. The Philadelphia Inquirer called PennFuture the “state’s leading environmental advocacy organization.”
Contacts:
Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future
Jeanne K. Clark, 412-258-6683 or
412-736-6092
