Gov. Ed Rendell wants to move forward with his plan to lease more state land for natural gas drilling, but local politicians and environmental groups are telling the governor to think again.
Rendell's plan could raise $180 million in revenue for the coming year, spokesperson Michael Smith said. Smith said leases from last year sold for more than twice as much as the expected $60 million.
But it's not a universally popular plan. Tor Michaels, chief of staff for Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre, said the legislator sees an opportunity to drill more in land already leased. And Gary Thornbloom, chairman of the Moshannon Group Sierra Club, said the state does not have the manpower to safely oversee additional drilling.
"I think it's a terrible idea," he said. "We don't have enough workers, we don't have enough regulations to make this work."
Smith said drilling has not caused any significant environmental problems, and the state is expanding its workforce to enforce stringent regulations on drilling.
Not so, Thornbloom said. He pointed to an incident in Greene County, Pa, where all aquatic life was completely killed off over a 30-mile stretch of Dunkard Creek. Natural gas drilling was the suspected culprit.
Thornbloom also said the Sierra Club supports House Bill 2235, which would place a moratorium on drilling and levy a severance tax on natural gas drilling.
Though Conklin believes the drilling can be done in an environmentally responsible way, he's still concerned with the drilling's impact.
"There is already a concern no matter what you do," Michaels said. "We would absolutely call for the most stringent environmental regulations to be enforced."
Rendell believes that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has held natural gas companies accountable for their drilling.
Still, Thornbloom said the governor has been disregarding environmental issues since first opening up land for drilling earlier this year.
"The governor didn't want to hear it then; he doesn't want to hear it now," he said.
