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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Steven J. Santarsiero |
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Santarsiero joins call for end to drilling in state forests
HARRISBURG, March 9 – State Rep. Steven J. Santarsiero, D-Bucks, today stood with more than 15 other legislators and environmental activists at a Capitol news conference to call for an end to additional leasing of state forest lands for natural gas drilling.
Santarsiero said an additional 30,000 acres of state forest lands were made available last year for natural gas exploration in order to generate revenue for the state. He and the other members of the so-called "Green Dog Caucus" successfully fought to prevent as much as 210,000 acres from being leased last year. They now are opposed to Gov. Rendell's proposed budget call for the state to lease additional land to raise another $112 million for the 2010-11 budget.
"Our state forest lands were designated more than a century ago to preserve this rich natural resource for future generations of Pennsylvanians. We should not undo this wise policy," Santarsiero said.
Santarsiero is co-sponsoring a measure (H.B. 2235) that would put a five-year moratorium on leasing additional state forest land for natural gas drilling. The State Forest Natural Gas Lease Moratorium Act would give the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources sole discretion after the moratorium ends on Dec. 31, 2015, to determine if state forests can withstand additional natural gas exploration. It would also require the agency to do an annual report of gas drilling impact on state forests.
Approximately 1.5 million acres of state forest lands sit atop the Marcellus Shale, a mile-deep formation experts believe is rich in natural gas.
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