Environmental Groups Urge Governor, Legislators Not To Mortgage PA's Future - Video Blog

Environmental, sportsmen and conservation groups joined several members of the General Assembly to call on the Senate, House and Gov. Rendell to pass a budget with judicious program cuts balanced with new revenue to avoid damage to our land, water and communities.

The groups and legislators supported the passage of a severance tax on natural gas drilling, with portions of the revenues invested in the environment and the communities that bear the brunt of this drilling.

Representatives David Levdansky (D-Allegheny) and Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) joined members of PennFuture, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, The Nature Conservancy, the PA Parks and Forests Foundation, PA Trout Unlimited, PA Quality Deer Management Association, the PA Recreation and Parks Society, Game Commission, PA Heritage and more.

Video Blog: Jan Jarrett, PennFuture

Rep. Levdansky, Majority Chair House Finance Committee

Lamonte Garber, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Fred Bohls, PA Trout Unlimited

Bob Griffiths, PA Recreation and Parks Society

Steve Schmidt, Game Commission

Cathy Davis, PA Quality Deer Management Assn.

“It’s time for everyone to step back, take a deep breath, and recognize what’s important here,” said Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture). “There is simply no way, with our state revenues down and our citizens’ needs increasing, that Pennsylvania can balance its budget on cuts alone without destroying our future.

“We need to find new sources of revenue,” said Jarrett. “And taxing the removal of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation is an idea whose time has come. Drilling in the Marcellus Shale has been going on for some time, yet the taxpayers have received little or no benefit. A tax on the drilling – with a portion invested in the environment, our agencies that manage fishing and hunting for the citizens, and in the local communities that host the drilling, and with 60 percent going to the general fund – can help fill some of the holes in the budget.

“Some have suggested that we avoid a tax on drilling by selling off leases to drill in our state forest,” continued Jarrett. “That is simply penny wise and pound foolish. Leasing right now is a very bad idea, since the market for natural gas is so low that the leases would gain us little. And flooding our state forest with drilling rigs will destroy the very beauty that the forest was designed to protect.

“Cutting our environmental funding to the bone, cutting our investments in our state parks and state forest, cutting the funding that allows us to sustain the natural beauty and bounty of our state and to attract others to our state – all of this, in the long run, will mortgage our future for years to come, perhaps forever,” continued Jarrett. “We implore our leaders to get off their collision course and recognize the real dangers we face with a draconian budget. Please don’t destroy our future.”

Commenting on a House Republican plan to require the leasing of more State Forest for Marcellus Shale drilling, Rep. Levdansky said--

"Our state forests are used for a variety of purposes -- conservation, tourism, hiking, bird watching, hunting, and fishing. The most pristine water and land are encompassed in the state forest system. We should not permit the private exploitation of our greatest natural resources for private gain. Leasing these lands for drilling would permanently fragment the forest ecosystem by constructing pipelines, access roads, and drilling sites in the most remote and ecologically sensitive areas of the state."

The press conference was part of the Capitol Hill Action Day, which featured citizen lobbyists from across the state educating their legislators on the need to balance cuts with new revenue in the long delayed budget. PennFuture is also reaching out to encourage citizens to speak out on this issue.