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DCNR's Quigley: Only Sharp Service Reductions, Oil & Gas Fund Kept Parks Open
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Acting Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary John Quigley told Senate and House Appropriations Committees this week only a sharp reduction in services and the timely transfer of $1.7 million from the Oil and Gas Fund kept all 117 State Parks open for business this passed year.

           At the same time, he noted State Parks experienced a 13.2 percent increase in visitors--- over 4.5 million more people using the facilities-- as Pennsylvanians look for close-to-home and less expensive recreation experiences.
            Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre) commended Acting Secretary Quigley for keeping State Parks open and available for public use, even handling an increase in visitors, during a time when the Commonwealth was going through a severe budget crisis.
            Acting Secretary Quigley said DCNR has reached the bottom in terms of cuts and any further reductions would mean not offering a quality park experience for the Commonwealth citizens.  Quigley credited the dedicated women and men working at DCNR for keeping park services available to the public.
            Natural Gas Revenues
            Acting Secretary Quigley told the Senate Appropriations Committee the Commonwealth should move cautiously in leasing any more State Forest land for drilling because it will become more difficult in the future to maintain the balance between producing natural gas and generating revenues and keeping the sustainable practices certification of the State Forest system.
            Sen. Corman agreed the state needs to be cautious.  "If we don't put the right kinds of safeguards in place, shame on us," he said.
            At the same time, Sen. Corman said projections he's seen about the royalties to be earned from just the leases already signed by DCNR say revenues will increase from an estimated $6 million in FY 2010-11 to over $300 million annually over the next 15 to 20 years.
            Quigley also said he saw no reason why a proposed natural gas production severance tax would slow down gas leasing or drilling across the state considering the interest expressed in the last round of State Forest land leasing and the large investments made recently by companies in developing Marcellus Shale gas resources.
            He noted that 90 percent of drilling activity occurs on private land and only about 10 percent on publicly owned land in the Commonwealth.
            Written Testimony
            In written testimony to the Committees, Acting Secretary Quigley said the Governor is recommending 12 new positions in the agency to help oversee the dramatic increase in leasing for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling on State Forest land.
            Quigley told the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee in December his agency did not have the staff resources needed to police the increased drilling activities.  (12/21/09 PA Environment Digest)
            His written testimony also highlighted DCNR's direct and indirect purchase of 130,000 acres of open space and critical habitat since the beginning of the Rendell Administration, including 73,000 acres added to State Forest lands and 5,000 acres of new State Park land.
            Acting Secretary Quigley also said his agency is increasingly relying on monies from the Oil and Gas Fund to finance its operations.  The proposed budget, for example, will use $10.6 million from the Fund to support Forestry operations and $2 million to supplement General Fund appropriations, in addition to the $1.7 million to keep State Parks open.
            In response to questions, Quigley touched on several topics--

Moratorium On State Forest Drilling:  Rep. David Reed (R-Indiana) asked whether DCNR was supporting a moratorium on leasing more State Forest land for natural gas drilling. 

            Acting Secretary Quigley said the Governor is considering it, but has proposed a natural gas production severance tax to provide funding for the state budget that could be an alternative to leasing.  Rep. Reed noted the budget includes both leasing State Forest land and a severance tax.
            Quigley said DCNR is overseeing six producing Marcellus Shale wells, with 100 wells in the planning stage for this year.
State Forest Sustainable Management Certification:  Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) asked if the certification of State Forest land as using sustainable management practices by an independent agency is in jeopardy as a result of increased drilling on state land.
            Acting Secretary Quigley said the sustainable certification rests on several factors including the degree of forest fragmentation and whether forest managers have enough staff and resources to properly manage the forest.
            He said there is no doubt hundreds of new wells and their associated access roads and collection pipelines will have a negative impact on forest fragment in the future.  He said we have only seen the tip of the iceberg on this issue.
            Quigley said the certification is not only important to DCNR, but to Pennsylvania's forest products industry that relies on the certification to market many of its products.  Forest-related industries support over 70,000 jobs in the Commonwealth.
State Park Drilling:  In response to questions from Sen. John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) and Sen. Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia), Quigley said the mineral and natural gas drilling rights for 75 percent of the land now used as State Parks is owned not by the public, but by private companies.  
            He said there have been several instances where the companies owning those rights have started to explore them in preparation for Marcellus Shale drilling.  So far, he said, the impacts of those operations have been mitigated by surface rights agreements, but the activity is clearly picking up.
            In contrast to State Park lands, Acting Secretary Quigley said, DCNR owns 75 to 80 percent of the mineral and natural gas rights under State Forest lands.
Gas Pipeline Impacts:  Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Lackawanna) asked about the extent of natural gas gathering pipeline development and safety issues within State Forest lands.
            Acting Secretary Quigley and DCNR Deputy Secretary for Parks and Forestry James Grace said with six producing Marcellus Shale gas wells so far, there has not been much pipeline activity.  However, Dr. Grace said many people believe the development of collection pipelines will become the largest environmental impact from gas well development in the future in terms of forest fragmentation, conflicts with the forest products industry and recreational users of State Forests.
Future Of Growing Greener Funding: In response to a question from Sen. Lawrence Farnese (D-Philadelphia) about needing more resources to develop Benjamin Rush State Park in Philadelphia, Acting Secretary Quigley said funding from the Growing Greener II bond issue runs out this year leaving only limited funding to support local and DCNR recreation improvement projects across the state.
            Quigley said the real question is where we go from here in providing funding for these important projects which have direct economic benefit.  Speaking for the agency, and not Gov. Rendell, he said he would welcome the opportunity to identify options for continuing Growing Greener-type funding.

Windmill Siting:  Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, asked about the status of leasing DCNR-held lands for wind farm development.

            Acting Secretary Quigley said the Wind Energy Collaboration, a working group of wind energy and environmental groups, found there was relatively little potential for larger scale wind energy development on State Forest and Park lands.  As a result, and with the pressures on the agency created by the Marcellus Shale natural gas leasing, he said DCNR is putting off any attempts to get legislative approval to lease the land they own for wind farms.
Carbon Sequestration:  In response to a question from Sen. Mary Jo White, Quigley said DCNR spent about $6 million on a study to determine the feasibility of developing a large scale underground carbon sequestration facilities in the Commonwealth.
            As a result of this work, they determined the geology of Pennsylvania was suitable for a sequestration facility, but the land area (and the mineral rights) needed to be assembled for a commercial carbon sequestration facility would make a project difficult.  
            For example, he said, an 800 megawatt coal-fired power plant would need an area of about 100 square miles for carbon sequestration over the 40 year life of the facility.  With Pennsylvania's pattern of mineral ownership separate from surface rights owners, he said assembling a tract that large would be impractical.  He said the agency is now looking at alternatives.
Heritage Parks Funding Eliminated:  Rep. Deberah Kula (D-Westmoreland) and Rep. William Kortz (D-Allegheny) expressed disappointment with the zeroing out of the Heritage Park grant program line item as did several members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

            Acting Secretary Quigley said the recommendation was part of the budget agreement between the Governor and the General Assembly last year and carried forward to this year.  He agreed the local Heritage Park areas are a very valuable resource for the Commonwealth and local economic development.

Threats To Close Parks:  Rep. Gordon Denlinger (R-Lancaster) said he did not appreciate the threats used last year to close 35 State Parks, and the follow up calls by constituents to his office.
            Acting Secretary Quigley said it was not a threat, it was real.  He said only a sharp reduction in services offered at State Parks and $1.7 million in funding shifted from the Oil and Gas Fund by the Governor kept the parks open.
Gypsy Moth Spraying:  Acting Secretary Quigley said, when asked by Sen. Baker, there will be no gypsy moth spraying this year as a result of budget cuts, however, Dr. Grace said the gypsy moth population has collapsed so he did not expect major damage to the Commonwealth's forests.
Timber Sales Collapse:  Sen. Patrick Browne (R-Lehigh) asked why the projection of revenue from timber sales has decreased.
            Acting Secretary Quigley and Dr. Grace said the timber market collapsed as a result of the downturn of the national economy and the housing market in particular.  As a result, Dr. Grace said DCNR is selling the same amount of timber, but getting about half the revenue for it.
            A copy of Acting Secretary Quigley's written testimony is available online.   A copy of DCNR's formal budget submission is also available online.
                                 Op-Ed: PA Agriculture Braces For Another Budget Hit
                                 DEP Plans To Boost Numbers Of Drilling Inspectors
                                 DEP Budget Decreases Except For Drilling Inspectors
                                 Concern Over Impact Of Budget Cuts On The Environment

Agency Testimony or Budget Presentations From This Week

Link: Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee Budget Information

Note: Budget hearings can be seen live online on the PCN TV website.  Senate hearings can be seen live and archived on the Senate Appropriations Committee webpage.

 


3/1/2010

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