We side with PA Governor Tom Corbett's position to not tax Marcellus Shale drilling extraction. The Republican Governor understands taxation with representation is a jobs killer, and incentive and innovation killers, as well.
However, there are a host of concerns about the drilling process in PA and the new Gov. should be more than willing to hold state agencies and all state legislators accountable for inadequate oversight.
Gov. Corbett should initiate a complete review for instance of any former complaints which made their way to agencies regarding illegal dumping. He should do this today.
Tomorrow is too late.
Any abuses discovered should be met with more than steep fines. Probation would be in order. A grace period given to rectify any identified abuses or violations should be given, but scrutiny should follow.
Two strikes against a company and that company should be out of contention in PA. Go elsewhere.
Another situation Gov. Corbett must delve into is the potential, yes the real potential, our gas from our PA wells are going to head to China.
This is simply unacceptable. PA citizens should be the first recipients of this resource.
Corbett remains opposed to taxing natural gas producers
Gov. Tom Corbett yesterday reiterated his opposition to a tax on natural gas pulled from the Marcellus shale but made it clear he will protect the state's environment from chemical contamination by drillers, a stance urged by a new national report.
At a Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors meeting in Hershey, an attendee said drillers "are poisoning our water."
"I will not let them poison the water," Corbett responded. "We have to protect the water. We must do it on science, not emotion."
The governor may look to research released over the weekend by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which found shale gas drillers nationwide used 29 hazardous chemicals in drilling fluids from 2005-09. Pennsylvania wasn't among the states in which drillers were found to be widely using such chemicals in the process.
"Let's take a look at what the science is," Corbett said when asked about the report. He did not elaborate on how the state would protect water supplies. A spokeswoman at the state Department of Environmental Protection declined a request for comment.
The state should use the study — based on self-reports from drillers — to figure out which chemicals to better monitor in drilling wastewater, said Myron Arnowitt, state director of Clean Water Action.
In brief comparisons of states based on how much drillers used the most harmful chemicals, including known carcinogens and chemicals regulated by federal environmental law, Pennsylvania ranked in the bottom half or not at all.
Arnowitt noted that widespread drilling in Pennsylvania's Marcellus shale didn't start until the last two years of the study. Still, drillers' use in the state of nearly 750,000 gallons of 2-butoxyethanol, which at high exposure can destroy blood cells and damage organs, ranked sixth out of 10 states, according to the report.
Read more: Corbett remains opposed to taxing natural gas producers - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_732919.html#ixzz1JySqkinM
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