Post by melody on May 29, 2014 23:27:44 GMT -5
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS OPPOSE REVOCATION OF MORATORIUM ON NATURAL GAS DRILLING IN STATE PARKS AND FORESTS
By Caleb Sisak, PLS Intern
5/29/14
Various environmental groups held a press conference this morning to speak out against Gov. Corbett’s recent Executive Order that removed a moratorium on natural gas drilling in state parks and forests, and also the inclusion of $75 million in revenue for the upcoming fiscal year budget from additional leasing of mineral rights under state lands.
Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) said that the initial budget proposal from the administration referenced additional leasing of mineral rights, yet it did not provide details about the location and scope of these activities. As such, he mentioned that he filed a Right to Know request with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) that was recently approved through the appeals process. Rep. Vitali condemned the issuance of the Executive Order at the end of the week prior to a holiday. “This is bad public policy,” he asserted. “We’ve already leased out over 700,000 acres of our State Forest land.”
“We do not know, as evidenced even in DCNR reports, what the full impact of all this drilling on our state lands will be,” Rep. Vitali explained. “There is a better way to raise revenue from gas drilling—that is the severance tax.” He pointed out that there is a strong majority of public support for such a tax, and admonished Gov. Corbett for not exploring this opportunity.
Joanne Kilgour, Director of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter, expressed her serious concerns about the impact of further drilling on shared, state lands used for recreational enjoyment in a natural setting. She denounced the administration’s “misleading announcement” that the Executive Order will afford greater protections against surface disturbance on State Forest lands, saying that it actually removes previous protections put in place several years ago.
Kilgour asserted, “Lifting that moratorium and, with it, necessary protections for our State Forests and Parks does not protect these lands, it sacrifices them.” She explained that existing natural gas leases have already contributed to forest fragmentation, loss of primitive acreage, noise disturbance, loss of recreational users, and harm to trails. In modifying the restrictions from ‘non-surface disturbance’ to ‘no long-term surface disturbance’, Kilgour pointed out, the administration has already “implicitly conceded” that this will have an immediate, detrimental impact on these areas.
“The rampant leasing of our State Forests under the Rendell administration, a Republican Senate, and a Democratic House was wrong,” argued Steve Stroman, Policy Director for Penn Future. “This proposal to lease more State Forest land and, for the first time, State Parks is also wrong.” He highlighted the importance of State Parks in attracting 35 to 40 million visitors annually with a return of $12 for every $1 invested. Stroman noted that the commonwealth owns only 20 percent of the mineral rights under State Park land; however, the natural gas industry has not yet utilized these lands recognizing the importance to Pennsylvanians and likelihood for public backlash. He explained that a reversal of state policy protecting these areas could set a precedent that drilling on these lands is acceptable. “This type of industrial development does not belong on the doorstep of our State Park system that attracts 38 million visitors,” Stroman posited.
Rev. Sandy Strauss, Director of Public Advocacy for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, said that the State Parks and Forests represent a rare opportunity to experience untainted creation. “Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come,” she affirmed. “Gov. Corbett’s decision is in direct violation of our Constitution, which calls for the land to be preserved for all—now and into the future. And which declares that the public natural resources are the common property of all.” The protection and management of the state’s natural resources must be a priority, Strauss emphasized, and lawmakers have a duty to uphold the Constitution in the interests of future generations.
Maya van Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper with the Delaware Riverkeeper Networker, reiterated the many detrimental effects that lifting the moratorium will have for the commonwealth. “It is very clear that Gov. Corbett’s Executive Order is going to open up our public lands to a catastrophic level of harm, and in so doing he is going to be taking away from present and future generations the many benefits and values that our State Parks and Forests provide,” she asserted.
“The Governor’s Executive Order will invite, inspire, and spawn a wave of industrial development right up to the edges of our State Parks and Forests and in areas already leased, turning once natural areas and beautiful communities into industrial zones.” Van Rossum said that the chemicals and methods utilized in industrial fracking will directly impact the natural ecosystems of these areas, and also industrial accidents will become more prolific in areas that have never before been disturbed. “Gov. Corbett’s Executive Order, despite what he is trying to portray, will not avoid these harms on our state lands; in fact, it will invite them,” she submitted. “We will have paved the way for opening the parks entirely to drilling—every aspect and every inch.”
Kristen Cevoli, Fracking Program Director with PennEnvironment, cited the increasing amount of public sentiment opposing the expansion of gas drilling into state lands. “Pennsylvanians do not want to see more of their state lands opened up and exposed to the harmful effects of gas drilling here in Pennsylvania,” she argued. “Those numbers only increase when we’re talking about our State Parks.” Cevoli mentioned the overwhelming, negative response from members to Gov. Corbett’s continued efforts to expand drilling into state lands. She added, “We really at this point see the State Legislature as our last hope to stop the further destruction and drilling of our State Forests and Parks.”
Ralph Kisberg, President of the Responsible Drilling Alliance, highlighted the common public wealth of the state’s natural gas resources that belong to both present and future Pennsylvanians. “Why in the world would we want to lease out this asset now at the bottom of the market for leases, when we’ve already leased so much state land,” he questioned. “This is just another giveaway to the industry.” Kisberg explained that the estimated revenue of $75 million was provided to the administration by the industry based on a rate of $3,000 per acre, which is half what was received by private landowners in 2009. “This is the wrong time to do this,” he stated. “This is bad fiscal policy and management. This asset needs to be valued over the long term.”
Susan Carty, President of the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters, recognized that trade-offs are an intrinsic component of public policy. The state government is intended to act as an “overseer” of natural resources, she suggested, that is neither fickle nor unpredictable. Carty discussed her organization’s annual meeting last year, which drafted a resolution regarding the proper conservation and maintenance of the commonwealth’s natural gas resources. “We urge the Governor and the Legislature to reject this proposal, and do what is right by the people, by the Constitution and by the Supreme Court.”
Nathan Sooy, Central Pennsylvania Campaign Coordinator for Clean Water Action, stated that Gov. Corbett is governing against the will of the people. Citing a recent poll, he noted that 68 percent of Pennsylvanians are against leasing natural gas operations in State Parks and Forests. Compared to the level of general resistance to drilling in the state, Sooy observed, this opposition specifically concerning state lands is significantly higher. “Gov. Corbett has other reasons for doing this, he’s not following the will of the people,” he argued. “He’s doing this to fill a short-term budget hole—the absolute worst reason to be doing this. And he’s doing this when there are other sources of revenue available that he’s just not willing to explore.” Sooy promised further public demonstrations and lobbying efforts, which are intended to stress express the will of the people to state leaders.
By Caleb Sisak, PLS Intern
5/29/14
Various environmental groups held a press conference this morning to speak out against Gov. Corbett’s recent Executive Order that removed a moratorium on natural gas drilling in state parks and forests, and also the inclusion of $75 million in revenue for the upcoming fiscal year budget from additional leasing of mineral rights under state lands.
Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) said that the initial budget proposal from the administration referenced additional leasing of mineral rights, yet it did not provide details about the location and scope of these activities. As such, he mentioned that he filed a Right to Know request with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) that was recently approved through the appeals process. Rep. Vitali condemned the issuance of the Executive Order at the end of the week prior to a holiday. “This is bad public policy,” he asserted. “We’ve already leased out over 700,000 acres of our State Forest land.”
“We do not know, as evidenced even in DCNR reports, what the full impact of all this drilling on our state lands will be,” Rep. Vitali explained. “There is a better way to raise revenue from gas drilling—that is the severance tax.” He pointed out that there is a strong majority of public support for such a tax, and admonished Gov. Corbett for not exploring this opportunity.
Joanne Kilgour, Director of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter, expressed her serious concerns about the impact of further drilling on shared, state lands used for recreational enjoyment in a natural setting. She denounced the administration’s “misleading announcement” that the Executive Order will afford greater protections against surface disturbance on State Forest lands, saying that it actually removes previous protections put in place several years ago.
Kilgour asserted, “Lifting that moratorium and, with it, necessary protections for our State Forests and Parks does not protect these lands, it sacrifices them.” She explained that existing natural gas leases have already contributed to forest fragmentation, loss of primitive acreage, noise disturbance, loss of recreational users, and harm to trails. In modifying the restrictions from ‘non-surface disturbance’ to ‘no long-term surface disturbance’, Kilgour pointed out, the administration has already “implicitly conceded” that this will have an immediate, detrimental impact on these areas.
“The rampant leasing of our State Forests under the Rendell administration, a Republican Senate, and a Democratic House was wrong,” argued Steve Stroman, Policy Director for Penn Future. “This proposal to lease more State Forest land and, for the first time, State Parks is also wrong.” He highlighted the importance of State Parks in attracting 35 to 40 million visitors annually with a return of $12 for every $1 invested. Stroman noted that the commonwealth owns only 20 percent of the mineral rights under State Park land; however, the natural gas industry has not yet utilized these lands recognizing the importance to Pennsylvanians and likelihood for public backlash. He explained that a reversal of state policy protecting these areas could set a precedent that drilling on these lands is acceptable. “This type of industrial development does not belong on the doorstep of our State Park system that attracts 38 million visitors,” Stroman posited.
Rev. Sandy Strauss, Director of Public Advocacy for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, said that the State Parks and Forests represent a rare opportunity to experience untainted creation. “Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come,” she affirmed. “Gov. Corbett’s decision is in direct violation of our Constitution, which calls for the land to be preserved for all—now and into the future. And which declares that the public natural resources are the common property of all.” The protection and management of the state’s natural resources must be a priority, Strauss emphasized, and lawmakers have a duty to uphold the Constitution in the interests of future generations.
Maya van Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper with the Delaware Riverkeeper Networker, reiterated the many detrimental effects that lifting the moratorium will have for the commonwealth. “It is very clear that Gov. Corbett’s Executive Order is going to open up our public lands to a catastrophic level of harm, and in so doing he is going to be taking away from present and future generations the many benefits and values that our State Parks and Forests provide,” she asserted.
“The Governor’s Executive Order will invite, inspire, and spawn a wave of industrial development right up to the edges of our State Parks and Forests and in areas already leased, turning once natural areas and beautiful communities into industrial zones.” Van Rossum said that the chemicals and methods utilized in industrial fracking will directly impact the natural ecosystems of these areas, and also industrial accidents will become more prolific in areas that have never before been disturbed. “Gov. Corbett’s Executive Order, despite what he is trying to portray, will not avoid these harms on our state lands; in fact, it will invite them,” she submitted. “We will have paved the way for opening the parks entirely to drilling—every aspect and every inch.”
Kristen Cevoli, Fracking Program Director with PennEnvironment, cited the increasing amount of public sentiment opposing the expansion of gas drilling into state lands. “Pennsylvanians do not want to see more of their state lands opened up and exposed to the harmful effects of gas drilling here in Pennsylvania,” she argued. “Those numbers only increase when we’re talking about our State Parks.” Cevoli mentioned the overwhelming, negative response from members to Gov. Corbett’s continued efforts to expand drilling into state lands. She added, “We really at this point see the State Legislature as our last hope to stop the further destruction and drilling of our State Forests and Parks.”
Ralph Kisberg, President of the Responsible Drilling Alliance, highlighted the common public wealth of the state’s natural gas resources that belong to both present and future Pennsylvanians. “Why in the world would we want to lease out this asset now at the bottom of the market for leases, when we’ve already leased so much state land,” he questioned. “This is just another giveaway to the industry.” Kisberg explained that the estimated revenue of $75 million was provided to the administration by the industry based on a rate of $3,000 per acre, which is half what was received by private landowners in 2009. “This is the wrong time to do this,” he stated. “This is bad fiscal policy and management. This asset needs to be valued over the long term.”
Susan Carty, President of the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters, recognized that trade-offs are an intrinsic component of public policy. The state government is intended to act as an “overseer” of natural resources, she suggested, that is neither fickle nor unpredictable. Carty discussed her organization’s annual meeting last year, which drafted a resolution regarding the proper conservation and maintenance of the commonwealth’s natural gas resources. “We urge the Governor and the Legislature to reject this proposal, and do what is right by the people, by the Constitution and by the Supreme Court.”
Nathan Sooy, Central Pennsylvania Campaign Coordinator for Clean Water Action, stated that Gov. Corbett is governing against the will of the people. Citing a recent poll, he noted that 68 percent of Pennsylvanians are against leasing natural gas operations in State Parks and Forests. Compared to the level of general resistance to drilling in the state, Sooy observed, this opposition specifically concerning state lands is significantly higher. “Gov. Corbett has other reasons for doing this, he’s not following the will of the people,” he argued. “He’s doing this to fill a short-term budget hole—the absolute worst reason to be doing this. And he’s doing this when there are other sources of revenue available that he’s just not willing to explore.” Sooy promised further public demonstrations and lobbying efforts, which are intended to stress express the will of the people to state leaders.
