Chesapeake Bay Foundation Announces Lawsuit against
DEP for Lax Permitting
HARRISBURG, Pa.--(Business Wire)--
Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of Citizens for Pennsylvania`s Future
(PennFuture), and Matthew Royer, attorney for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, today called on the Pennsylvania legislature to abandon plans to sell off the state`s public lands to multi-national drilling companies tapping the Marcellus Shale formation and instead institute a tax on the natural gas removed anywhere in Pennsylvania. Their remarks came one day after the Chesapeake Bay Foundation filed a legal challenge to erosion and sediment control permits issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for drilling
activities on Tioga State Forest.
(PennFuture), and Matthew Royer, attorney for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, today called on the Pennsylvania legislature to abandon plans to sell off the state`s public lands to multi-national drilling companies tapping the Marcellus Shale formation and instead institute a tax on the natural gas removed anywhere in Pennsylvania. Their remarks came one day after the Chesapeake Bay Foundation filed a legal challenge to erosion and sediment control permits issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for drilling
activities on Tioga State Forest.
"This is just one of several a legal challenges we have filed because DEP is not doing its job to make sure our State Forests and other stream and wetland resources are protected from the environmental impacts of drilling," said Royer. "Instead of protecting the environment, DEP is rubber stamping permit applications without any formal review. DEP`s permit review process consists of simply making sure all the paperwork is in the permit application. Unbelievably,
they are not conducting any environmental review of the plans that drilling companies are required to submit in order to minimize environmental impacts. Pennsylvania`s precious water resources-our rivers, streams, and wetlands-are at risk due to the lack of thorough DEP oversight.
they are not conducting any environmental review of the plans that drilling companies are required to submit in order to minimize environmental impacts. Pennsylvania`s precious water resources-our rivers, streams, and wetlands-are at risk due to the lack of thorough DEP oversight.
...
"Abandoning the severance tax on natural gas and immediately opening up hundreds of thousands of acres of state land to gas drillers is a giveaway to multi-national energy corporations directly at the expense of Pennsylvania taxpayers," said Jan Jarrett. ...
"If Pennsylvania does not assess a severance tax we are allowing the industry to foist the costs of drilling onto taxpayers - wear and tear on local roads, the costs of environmental regulation and oversight, damage to natural resources, strains on policing and emergency services.
That`s an insult to Pennsylvania taxpayers," continued Jarrett.
Read the complete article from Reuters HERE.
In a subsequent report from Reuters, Jon Hurdle writes:
The foundation argues that restraints on drilling companies were weakened when the DEP told county conservation districts in March that they no longer had authority to review permit applications for erosion and sediment control. They are urging the agency to restore the local oversight of drilling applications.
The DEP's new policies violate environmental laws including the federal Clean Water Act, the appeal alleges.
"If Pennsylvania does not assess a severance tax we are allowing the industry to foist the costs of drilling onto taxpayers - wear and tear on local roads, the costs of environmental regulation and oversight, damage to natural resources, strains on policing and emergency services.
That`s an insult to Pennsylvania taxpayers," continued Jarrett.
Read the complete article from Reuters HERE.
In a subsequent report from Reuters, Jon Hurdle writes:
The foundation argues that restraints on drilling companies were weakened when the DEP told county conservation districts in March that they no longer had authority to review permit applications for erosion and sediment control. They are urging the agency to restore the local oversight of drilling applications.
The DEP's new policies violate environmental laws including the federal Clean Water Act, the appeal alleges.
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