House Republicans Unveil Marcellus Shale Gas Lease Proposal
The House Republican Energy Task Force today unveiled at a Capitol news conference the "Energize PA" plan to expand natural gas drilling on 390,000 additional acres of state forest land during the next three years. The proposal would provide an additional $260 million per year for state and local governments and conservation districts while promoting the creation of 7,000 new private-sector jobs in Pennsylvania's emerging Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling industry."My bill is about promoting job creation at a time when our state's workers are suffering the consequences of a national economic downturn," said Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana), prime sponsor of the legislation - House Bill 1050 - and one of two co-chairs of the House Republican Energy Task Force, together with Tina Pickett (R-Bradford).
... The task force held informational meetings with natural gas industry experts and executives to develop a workable proposal that would provide revenue for the state, local governments and conservation districts without enacting a new tax on natural gas companies. (click here for full announcement)
Meanwhile, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) today decried the House Republican Energy Task Force Plan to Open Hundreds of Thousands of Acres of State Lands to Drilling, calling it the height of fiscal and environmental irresponsibility.
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Oh Brother! They have been drilling in the LBJ National Grasslands which is adjacent to my property and one reason I chose to live where I do. PA citizens need to stop this plan ASAP.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope more and more people can see through these immoral actions of Representatives Reed and Pickett and their friends at the state house. Gas drilling brings water contamination, soil contamination, and air that is dangerous to breath. Plants and animals cannot survive in the destroyed environment either. So we may have jobs, but where will the people be? Running for the hills? As one resident of Auburn Township said this week, "What good is all of this if you can't drink the water?" I might add, what good is all of this if your unborn child is severely affected by the chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors? What good is all of this if your wife develops cancer or a brain tumor? What good is all of this if your house explodes due to wandering methane gas in the aquifer? As I see it, we can have hydrofracked natural gas for a few short years, or we can have an inhabitable planet which is able to sustain us so we can live our lives.
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