[What about?]

from Any Loza, Pennsylvania Land Trust Association (http://conserveland.org) phone 717-230-8560

Please call or email your state senator and representative ASAP. Tell them to tell their party leadership to be sure the following items are part of any state budget agreement:

1. Enact a natural gas severance tax and dedicate a portion of the revenue to land, water and wildlife conservation as well as affected local governments.

2. Ensure the budgets of DCNR and DEP are not subject to cuts disproportionate to other state agencies.

3. Oppose proposals that would open up additional acres of publicly-owned State Forest lands to gas drilling until potential impacts can be assessed and appropriate protections can be put in place

Until a budget deal in publicly announced, calls will continue to be very important for advancing these objectives. So please spread this message to your friends, family and colleagues!

Go to the upper right corner of http://www.legis.state.pa.us to find your legislators.
Go to http://landandwater.org for more information.



BACKGROUND

1. Enacting the proposed natural gas severance tax and dedicating a portion of these funds to the Environmental Stewardship Fund, the PA Fish & Boat and Game Commissions and affected local governments.
In these tough economic times, as Pennsylvania’s residents pay their fair share of taxes, it’s critical that the natural gas industry pays its fair share as well. Yet Pennsylvania remains one of only two states that allow natural gas drilling but do not assess a severance tax to compensate for the depletion of a nonrenewable resource and for damage to natural resources and public infrastructure.

The severance tax would not create any greater disincentive to drilling than in other states; in fact, Pennsylvania has tremendous competitive advantages because its vast gas resources are located where demand is high and transportation is the largest factor in the cost of natural gas. Although drillers complain loudly about PA’s high corporate net income tax rate, the reality is that nearly all extraction companies are structured to avoid these taxes. The proposed severance tax rate is five percent of the value of the natural gas at the wellhead, plus 4.7 cents per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas removed, the same as West Virginia’s tax.

2. Ensuring that the budgets of Pennsylvania’s two environmental agencies, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), are not subject to cuts disproportionate to other state agencies.
In these tough budget times all of the Commonwealth’s agencies will have to tighten their belts and make difficult financial decisions as part of any budget agreement. However, it is essential that the budgets of DCNR and DEP receive cuts that are fair and comparable to other Pennsylvania agencies. One of the current budget proposals would cut DEP and DCNR to 1993 levels.

In our 117 state parks and 2.1 million acres of state forest land, DNCR employees are our first line of assistance. They even keep the peace when visitors get rowdy. State employees make sure that the parks and forests are available to all, while conserving our natural resources for the future. They teach visitors about the ecological and geological wonders of the area. They build and run outdoor recreation facilities for all to enjoy. They provide assistance to communities to create, protect and improve trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space and natural areas.

DEP employees work to make sure our water, land and air quality is safe and healthy for all. They are the ones you call when there's a pollution problem and you need help, from floods to toxic spills to air pollution to bad water. They make sure that our trash is disposed of properly. They oversee energy production. They make sure all of Pennsylvania's families and businesses understand and obey our environmental laws, providing technical help to make it happen. And they take scofflaws to court when they harm our environmental treasures.

Year after year, the Governor and General Assembly have instructed DCNR and DEP staff to do more with less. The fat is gone. Budget cuts now mean service cuts, whether that means closing parks, not enforcing environmental laws or scaling back other vital services.

3. Safeguarding State Forest lands from proposals to open additional publicly owned acres to gas drilling until potential impacts can be assessed and appropriate protections can be put in place.
The impacts of gas drilling on the 660,000 acres of publicly owned State Forest already open for drilling have yet to be assessed. Yet there are proposals to open hundreds of thousands of additional acres of State Forest lands to drilling. No additional leasing of our State Forests for drilling should occur until it can be demonstrated that new leases will avoid environmentally sensitive and ecologically important areas and minimize impacts of drilling and related activities on other forest values and uses as well as assure that the revenue derived will be reinvested in conservation, recreation and flood control projects as has been state policy through the past 54 years and seven recessions.

Much of the additional state land that would be opened to drilling is wholly unsuitable for resource extraction; a concern that becomes all the more compelling given the rise in environmental damage occurring as Marcellus Shale drilling increases. The potential long-term consequences of this action would be: scarring of public lands, degradation of our most pristine water resources, and destruction of wildlife habitat. For example, a drilling company’s leaking waste water pipe in Washington County’s Cross Creek Park recently polluted a tributary of Cross Creek Lake, degrading the water for area residents and killing fish, salamanders, crayfish and aquatic insect life. Another company received a cease and desist order from DEP this July for more than 320 violations of environmental laws and regulations. These two examples will be magnified enormously -- with significant consequences for our public lands and waters -- as Pennsylvania’s natural gas boom progresses. The budget deal should not put short-term financial gain ahead of the responsible management of Pennsylvania’s public lands including protection of its environmentally sensitive resources.