Sen. White: While the recent state budget contains difficult spending reductions for all agencies, necessitated by a $3.2 billion deficit, your recent article (October 16) leaves an inaccurate impression on how much money the state's environmental and conservation agencies have available to do their job.

An important component lacking from your report is the fact that the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources receive money outside of the state budget bill. For example, DEP is slated to receive nearly $20 million in new revenue from higher permitting fees - money that will go directly to paying for personnel costs. Additionally, many of the cuts to DEP's budget were for discretionary grant programs, including the elimination of one program The Patriot-News has criticized as "WAMs."

Likewise, DCNR suffered cuts to its budget, but your article overlooks that the agency has $25 million available to it from the 2008 Marcellus Shale lease offering. Recall that in Gov. Rendell's first year, he cut state park funding by 20 percent and not a single park closed.

The budget package also sets aside $50 million in future royalty money for DCNR to use virtually anywhere in its budget. And DEP and DCNR continue to benefit from other off-budget programs, such as Growing Greener and the Keystone Fund.

The budget cuts are real and will require difficult management decisions. But your readers deserve an accurate picture of the total resources agencies have available to do their job.

Secretary Hanger: The "Marcellus Shale: Pa. Tapped, Drillers Not" article last Sunday gave an incomplete and, therefore, distorted picture of how the recently enacted state budget will affect the Department of Environmental Protection. By focusing on the 27 percent reduction to the state General Fund portion of the DEP's budget, the article presented the potential impact on the environment as more severe than it will actually be.

In a typical year, state funds account for less than a third of DEP's budget. Last year, for example, state funds totaled $232 million of our $712 million departmental budget. Federal dollars and other revenues derived from fees and fines make up the bulk of our agency budget.

In addition, fees for gas drilling permits were increased to make it possible for us to hire additional inspectors to oversee and make sure gas drilling in the state does not harm the environment. The cut in state funds will have no impact on the permitting and inspection operations performed by the oil and gas staff at DEP, because instead of taxing the citizens for this work, we are making the drilling companies pay for this critical environmental protection work.

Gov. Rendell had to accept a final budget that cut spending in this recessionary national economy. It regrettably will require layoffs in DEP and other departments, as well as reductions or eliminations to some worthy services. But, and this is most important, we have made sure that our critical environmental inspection and enforcement efforts remain top priorities and will not be reduced.