To date, severance tax the most significant environmental legislation of 2015

June 1 was the unofficial start to Pennsylvania’s state budget negotiations. Expect the same budget showmanship and political stunts as years past but, nonetheless, this year’s budget negotiations have the potential to be an historic turning point. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say the Governor’s budget, anchored by a 5 percent severance tax on natural gas drilling, could be the most significant piece of environmental legislation of 2015.

That might sound off base to some so hear me out.

The overall impact of the severance tax can and will be measured by where the revenue it generates is directed, not necessarily from the direct impact of the severance tax itself. As most in the Commonwealth know, Gov. Tom Wolf has long proposed using most of the severance tax revenue to invest in education. But a deeper look at his budget also shows that the governor wants to leverage the severance tax to kick-start the state's clean energy economy and bolster environmental protection.

In particular, Gov. Wolf has proposed using a portion of the revenue generated to float a bond that would invest:

1. $225 million for clean energy and energy efficiency programs that will cut pollution and position Pennsylvania as a hub for clean energy jobs and industries;
2. $10 million to hire 50 new enforcement staff at the Department of Environmental Protection that will ensure Pennsylvania’s growing gas industry is safe and cleaner;
3. and $19 million to reduce the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ budgetary dependence on extractive industries so the state can increase its investment in our parks and forests.

The importance of restarting state investment in clean energy cannot be overstated. In four years, Pennsylvania went from being a leading state for clean energy job and industry growth to a lagging state because policymakers decided to end most incentive programs. The governor’s budget proposes to reverse that process by injecting some much needed investment in solar, energy efficiency, wind, and combined heat and power. It certainly wouldn’t be the end of the debate on state clean energy policy or proper investment levels but it’s a step in the right direction.

It’s critical that the clean energy and environmental protection piece of the governor’s budget proposal be included in all budget negotiations, particularly those surrounding the severance tax. It may sound funny linking natural gas drilling to clean energy but jump-starting these programs and industries requires revenue -- and the severance tax is the best bet.

Matthew Stepp is director of policy for PennFuture and works out of our Philadelphia and Harrisburg offices. He tweets @MatthewStepp.

Giving the public a say in public lands--show your support in Williamsport on July 28

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is required by law to manage Pennsylvania's state forests and state parks as a trustee for all citizens of the Commonwealth including generations yet to come. DCNR is now making critical decisions on gas development in state parks and state forests, decisions that will have far-reaching and long-lasting impact on the ecological and recreational value of our public lands.

Unfortunately, as PennFuture and other members of the Save the Loyalsock Coalition have come to understand in our struggle to protect an extraordinary tract of the Loyalsock State Forest in Lycoming County, DCNR is not currently required to inform or engage the public in a meaningful way as it makes significant decisions on the future of our public lands.

On Monday, July 28, the House Democratic Policy Committee will hold a hearing in Williamsport on legislation sponsored by Representative Rick Mirabito, D-Lycoming, that will give citizens much greater input into these decisions. 

Please consider attending this important hearing as our public lands are under tremendous stress and threat from natural gas development. The hearing will run from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Lycoming College's Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall, located at East Fourth and Basin streets.

Representative Mirabito's House Bill 2318 will require much greater transparency and accountability on the part of DCNR by requiring the agency to provide public notice and seek public input before authorizing any major unconventional shale gas development on state forest lands. Specifically, HB 2318 requires:

1. A public comment period
2. At least one public hearing or meeting
3. Access for the public during the comment period to proposed development plans
4. That DCNR share with the public during the comment period the agency's analysis of the potential impacts of the proposed gas development on ecological, wildlife, recreational, cultural and aesthetic resources

The hearing agenda includes testimony from:

• Robert Cross, Responsible Drilling Alliance
• Mark Szybist, PennFuture
• Joanne Kilgour, Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter
• John Childe, Jr., public interest attorney
• Harry Campbell, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• Paul Zeph, Audubon Pennsylvania
• Cust Ashenfelter, Keystone Trails Association

Officials from DCNR and the drilling industry declined invitations to testify and provide their input.

The public lands of Penn's Woods urgently need our help. Please consider attending this hearing.

Steve Stroman is policy director for PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg.

Ask your state representative to sponsor HR 500 on the Loyalsock

Please ask your state representative to co-sponsor House Resolution 500 that urges Governor Corbett and Acting Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Ellen Ferretti to do everything in their power to prevent natural gas drilling operations in an extraordinary part of the Loyalsock State Forest in Lycoming County known as the Clarence Moore lands.

Representative Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, Democratic Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, plans to introduce HR 500 in the very near future. The resolution currently has 45 co-sponsors.

The Clarence Moore lands of the Loyalsock State Forest consist of 25,621 acres in northeastern Lycoming County. These lands hold a wealth of natural and recreational resources including the acclaimed 27-mile Old Loggers Path hiking trail; most of the watershed of Rock Run, an Exceptional Value stream often referred to as the most beautiful stream in Pennsylvania; the Devils Elbow Natural Area; large tracts of intact forest; plant and animal species of special concern; and a National Audubon Society-designated Important Bird Area.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation proposes significant industrialization of the Clarence Moore lands for natural gas development. This proposed development includes at least 26 well pads, three compressor stations, impoundments, and miles of pipeline swaths and roads that will destroy, degrade and fragment these extraordinary public lands and natural resources of the Commonwealth.

An unusual land deed gives Governor Corbett and the DCNR extraordinary powers to protect these lands from natural gas development. A 1983 Commonwealth Court decision, backed up by a decision of the Pennsylvania Board of Claims, gives the administration the clear legal authority to deny surface access to Anadarko to over 75 percent of the Clarence Moore lands. The Department of Environmental Protection could restrict surface access to much of the remaining acreage based on the likely impacts to water and other resources under the powers provided by Act 13.

To search for your state representative by address, county or municipality, please visit the General Assembly's web site.

Send a message on the Loyalsock to Governor Corbett

Please take a moment today to add your voice to the growing chorus urging Governor Corbett and his Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to prevent gas drilling in the Loyalsock State Forest's Clarence Moore lands.

First, sign the on-line petition to Governor Corbett requesting him to direct his DCNR to hold public hearings across the Commonwealth on Anadarko Petroleum Corporation's proposed development plans for the Clarence Moore Lands.  

DCNR has unusual powers to protect this extraordinary section of the Loyalsock State Forest, and it is critical that information about any proposed drilling activity be subject to public review and input. As Rick Carlson, former DCNR policy director under both Republican and Democratic administrations, makes amply and eloquently clear in an op-ed this week, DCNR has yet to meaningfully engage the public and has kept the public in the dark about DCNR's and Anadarko's plans for the forest.

Second, share the petition to Corbett with all of your friends and anyone you know who cares about protecting Penn's Woods.

Third, send a copy of your petition and any comments that you would like to add to DCNR in care of loyalsock@pa.gov.

Fourth, send all or selected portions of your petition to your state representative and your state senator, and request that they use their power to urge the Corbett administration to protect the Loyalsock's Clarence Moore lands and ensure that any decision on gas development takes place only after meaningful public review and input.

Citizens can identify their state legislators and obtain legislative mailing and e-mail addresses by typing in their address at this web site. 

Remember that your efforts are not only on behalf of the Loyalsock. As Rick Carlson points out in his op-ed, this lack of meaningful public input is likely to play out in scores of sites in our forests and parks across Penn's Woods where natural gas development on state lands is possible unless the public demands a change in policy. 

The Loyalsock is a line in the sand.  Please do your part to help keep them out.