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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Steven J. Santarsiero |
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Santarsiero urges governor to call off additional land lease for gas drilling
HARRISBURG, Feb. 4 – State Rep. Steven J. Santarsiero, D-Bucks, yesterday joined an effort among state lawmakers to urge Gov. Rendell not to lease additional state forest lands for gas drilling.
Santarsiero and 36 other House Democrats wrote a letter to the governor in advance of his budget address on Tuesday recommending that a gas severance tax instead be levied on the gas already being drilled, which would obviate the need for the leasing of additional state forest lands in order to raise revenue for the state.
"While I opposed the original lease proposal for gas drilling in 2009-10, I understood that this was a one-time fix to raise $60 million to offset the state budget shortfall," Santarsiero said. "However, I am opposed to any further leasing of our state forest lands for this purpose as it could potentially have long-term environmental, fiscal and social impacts on our state and our residents."
The representatives took action after talk surfaced of a new plan to generate $180 million in new revenue from additional forest leasing in 2010-11. Santarsiero said this plan was not discussed or approved by members of the House.
Currently more than 700,000 acres, or one-third of the entire state forest lands, are already leased to drillers hoping to extract natural gas from the state's rich layer of Marcellus Shale, which underlies approximately two-thirds of Pennsylvania and portions of the states of New York and West Virginia at a depth of 5,000 to 8,000 feet. This layer is believed to hold trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.
"Our state forests are Pennsylvania's hidden recreational gems for thousands and thousands of visitors each year, offering more than 2,500 miles of trails and opportunities for hiking, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, horseback riding, snowmobiling and ATV riding," Santarsiero said. "In addition to the environmental concerns, this plan to lease additional forest lands would take away a valuable natural resource that is important to the heritage and culture of our state."
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