Chesapeake Bay Foundation Pennsylvania Executive Director Harry Campbell issued this statement Wednesday following Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal for a natural gas severance tax to be used exclusively for education:

“While acknowledging the need for additional funds for Pennsylvania schools, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) strongly urges that at least a portion of any new revenues from an approved severance tax be used to support the staff and resources at the state Department of Environmental Protection, particularly in the water programs, to help restore Pennsylvania’s 19,000 miles of impaired streams through conservation programs like Growing Greener.

“A recent CBF analysis determined that fully restoring Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay watershed rivers and streams would result in more than $6 billion in economic benefits to the Commonwealth.

“CBF also strongly suggests that the current Act 13 impact fees distributed to counties continue to be available and directed to address local water quality issues, such as improved management of polluted runoff.”

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2/16/2015