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Governor's Race- Citizens Advisory Councils To DEP, DCNR Offer Advice To Gubernatorial Candidates
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The Citizens Advisory Council to DEP and the Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council to DCNR this week published white papers outlining critical issues they believe candidates for Governor should address during the upcoming campaign. DEP Council Findings/Recommendations Here are some findings and recommendations from the DEP Citizens Advisory Council white paper-- Environmental Funding/Leveraging Resources: Pennsylvania’s environmental agencies have absorbed significant budget and staffing cuts over the last several years; this year’s cuts set the Department back to General Fund appropriations not seen since the 1990s. A number of DEP’s other funds, which were created in law for specific purposes, have been diverted to unrelated purposes, such as balancing the state budget. In several program areas, state funding cuts are compounded by loss of matching federal funds.
These budgetary challenges have forced tough choices on programs and initiatives designed to protect the health and safety of Pennsylvania’s citizens and environmental resources.
The cumulative cuts over the last several years undermines DEP’s ability to meet state and federal mandates, places federal funding (and eventually, program delegation) at risk, and may ultimately cause degradation of Pennsylvania’s environment and public health. Finally, the reduction of DEP resources has had a domino affect on erstwhile partners such as conservation districts.
Watershed-Based Solutions: In prior years, DEP’s watershed approach focused environmental protection and planning efforts onto the watersheds as nature’s building blocks rather than on artificial political boundaries. In many areas, this approach succeeded in helping those living and governing in the watershed to connect to the watershed, and in involving them in shaping its and their future. We need to return to this type of integrated, place-based, multi-media program review, planning and coordination and build on past successes.
While implementing place-based permitting and enforcement across the board may be too much of a paradigm shift for the immediate future, we should at least begin to evaluate the quality of our environment holistically and in a place-based manner. We urge consideration of a meaningful, place-based (e.g. watershed or community scale) environmental report card that addresses and evaluates each locale’s overall environmental and community health.
Partnerships: The decisions of local governments, farmers, businesses and industry, and individual citizens profoundly affect the quality of our environment. Environmental outcomes derive in large measure from decisions made in realms such as energy, agriculture, and transportation. Therefore, the next generation of environmental policy must redefine the sphere of environmental decision makers to include these sectors. Core Mission: While economic development is not DEP’s mission, the department’s impact on economic activity can be profound as many economic activities require DEP permits to proceed. DEP’s ability to conduct its programs in an efficient and timely manner is clearly linked to economic health; crippling the department will cripple economic recovery along with environmental protection. We must clearly differentiate DEP’s mandated roles and core responsibilities from what may be appropriate for permittees, citizens, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other private sector entities to do.
We also need to differentiate the core and most important functions of the department from expanded functions. For example, in recent years, attention and resources have been focused on expanded functions such as promoting alternative energy development, leaving a perception, at least, that core functions related to environmental protection are less important.
Energy is a critical factor in both today’s economy and environment; but it needs to be considered in the context of the full range of DEP’s mandates.
Natural Gas Severance Tax: There has been significant debate over the pros and cons of imposing a severance tax on natural gas drilling. Regardless of when such a tax is imposed, and in what form, we recommend that a significant portion of the proceeds be dedicated to land, water and wildlife conservation and to local governments impacted by gas exploitation, and particularly Marcellus Gas extraction. This can offset the damages caused by natural gas operations and avoid repeating the history of creating environmental scars and financial burdens for future generations. We have an extraordinary opportunity to invest in our natural resources and communities so that Pennsylvanians can prosper both during extraction activities and after the gas is gone, but we need to ensure these funds remain dedicated to the intended purpose, not raided for other shortfalls as has happened repeatedly to other environmental funding streams.
Conclusion: The environmental focus of the 1960s and the resulting environmental laws of the 1970s and onward have provided significant momentum for improving our environment: we have significantly improved our air and water quality; drastically reduced the menace of exposure to toxins such as lead; and vastly improved waste management practices. Despite all of the accomplishments to date, Pennsylvania has both significant natural resource protection and restoration needs and communities bearing disproportionate negative environmental burdens.
In recent years, government in general and DEP in particular have faced repeated budget and staffing cutbacks; DEP’s current General Fund appropriation is at a level not seen since the 1990’s. These limited resources are forcing DEP into a more reactive mode rather than a preventative one.
The reduction of DEP resources has had a domino effect; erstwhile partners such as conservation districts, local governments and authorities who have been delegated to operate certain programs, are struggling with reduced funding streams and services from DEP.
We want Pennsylvania to be a place with a high quality of life: a place where people now and in the future will want to live, work, recreate and invest, not a place in a perpetual state of clean up and remediation.
We have much yet to do to meet our Constitutional obligation to be stewards of our natural resources for the benefit of all the people, both now and for generations yet to come. We have much to gain if we can meet our burden; beyond the obvious environmental, health and safety benefits, there are also significant economic benefits, through direct job creation, stimulation of local economies and an improved environmental quality that attracts alternative economic opportunities.
In this report, we have outlined the major issues we believe Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial candidates need to be prepared to address to achieve this goal, and identifies recommendations to address these challenges in innovative and holistic ways that build on and augment traditional tools and concepts.
Council stands ready to discuss and assist in the further development and implementation of these recommendations. We further plan to develop a more detailed environmental agenda and operational recommendations for the governor-elect and secretary- designee in the fall.
DCNR Council Findings/Recommendations
Here are some highlights of the findings and recommendations in the DCNR Conservation and Natural Resources Council white paper to gubernatorial candidates--
Natural Gas Leasing: State forest leasing for this purpose should be done in an organized and logical manner to promote manageable and sustainable extraction of this energy source. There should be no unreasonable urgency for this natural gas to be extracted on state forest land. This resource will remain in place until it is extracted. When extraction does occur, the citizens of the Commonwealth deserve to benefit from this process, as this extraction is occurring on lands owned by, and managed for, the people of the Commonwealth.
It is not enough to simply state that the Commonwealth will benefit from this process because our tax base will increase. There is no guarantee that the resource will benefit, and it is the resource that is most harmed by this development process.
The state forest system should benefit from royalties received from lands lease, which in turn would go back into restoring the resource. If future leasing of state forest land for extraction activities is deemed consistent with forest management planning objectives, then leasing should be targeted for peak market times so as to maximize royalties and leasing dollars to be reinvested in improving the resource.
Use Of Oil And Gas Lease Fund: The Department, with support from the Governor’s Office, must continue to present a strong case for the maintenance of the integrity of these funds, and that the need for these funds is as powerful as ever. In turn, our legislative leaders need to understand the wisdom in the original creation of these funds and the powerful results from the use of these funds for resource protection and recreational provision, and ensure that these funds are retained and used as they were originally intended.
Restore the intent of the Oil and Gas Lease Fund as originally defined, providing DCNR with the ability to use these funds to restore, maintain, and/or improve the resources for which they are charged to oversee in a sustainable manner, and having direct oversight as to how that Fund should be used.
Tourism: DCNR needs to be recognized for the important role it plays in the recreation and tourism sectors and must continue to show strong leadership in providing and promoting recreation and outdoor tourism in Pennsylvania. There are no other obvious entities to do this. Working cooperatively with other agencies, organizations, and partners, DCNR should provide and promote the foundation for a healthy lifestyle.
Copies of the DEP Citizens Advisory Council and DCNR Conservation and Natural Resources Council white papers are available online.
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2/19/2010 |
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