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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Greg Vitali
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Vitali opposes governor's plan to lease more state forest
HARRISBURG, Feb. 12 – State Rep. Greg Vitali said he opposes Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to generate millions for the 2010-11 budget by leasing more state forest land in the Marcellus Shale region for natural gas drilling.
"Since 2008, the state has leased 106,000 acres of state forest land to natural gas drillers," said Vitali, D-Delaware. "It's time to take a step back and fully evaluate the impact this drilling will have on our forests and our water supplies. I cannot support any budget proposal that calls for additional leases."
The plan to lease more state forests was on the 1,005 page of Rendell's proposed budget and it indicates the state expects to earn $180 million by leasing more state forestland for gas development.
Vitali has introduced House Bill 2235, which would put a five-year moratorium on leasing additional state forest land for natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region. The State Forest Natural Gas Lease Moratorium Act would give the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources sole discretion after the moratorium ends Dec. 31, 2015 to determine if state forests can withstand additional natural gas exploration.
Vitali said he has asked state Rep. Camille "Bud" George, chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, to hold a hearing on H.B. 2235.
The Marcellus Shale, which contains vast quantities of natural gas, lies about a mile below about 60 percent of Pennsylvania and neighboring states. Drillers access the gas through hydrofracturing or fracking where millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals into the ground to fracture the shale, releasing the trapped natural gas.
According to DCNR, three wells in state forests are producing gas and another 100 are currently being drilled. DCNR says several thousand wells could be drilled in state forests.
"We do not yet know what the cumulative impact of this drilling will be on state forests or how it will affect the quality of drinking water," Vitali said. "We shouldn't lease another square inch until we know."
Instead of leasing more state forest land to balance the year budget, Pennsylvania should impose a severance tax on gas drillers, Vitali said. He noted that almost every other state that extracts natural gas imposes such a tax.
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