PennFuture: Pennsylvania State Budget a Mixed Bag for the Environment

HARRISBURG, Pa.--Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) thanked legislators for preserving funding for local conservation and restoration projects in the final budget passed today by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

“We look forward to working with members of General Assembly to craft a fair tax on gas drilling that will help the environment and communities dealing with the impacts of drilling”

“A week ago we were looking at budget proposals that would have wiped out the Growing Greener; the Keystone Recreation, Parks and Conservation Fund; and a fund that cleans up damage from coal mining, and used the money in those funds to balance the budget,�?? said Jarrett. “Fortunately, legislators saw the great value in those programs for local communities and left them intact.

“The successful effort to preserve our flagship environmental funding programs was led by Representatives Mike Gerber (D-Montgomery), Kate Harper (R-Montgomery), and David Levdansky (D-Washington, Allegheny) and Senator Joseph Scarnati (R-Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Warren),�?? continued Jarrett. “These bipartisan efforts were strongly supported by members of all four legislative caucuses who convinced their leadership to save Growing Greener, Keystone and the abandoned mine clean up funds.�??

“We remain concerned, however, over cuts to the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,�?? said Jarrett. “Pennsylvania has significant environmental challenges – including cleaning up our rivers and streams, and protecting our natural resources from gas drilling damage. Our state parks and forests are the foundation of our tourism industry and provide affordable recreation for many families in these difficult economic times. Both these agencies will be struggling to deliver the services Pennsylvanians expect from them with the resources they will have.�??

The budget also contains a promise to pass a severance tax on natural gas extraction by October 1.

“We look forward to working with members of General Assembly to craft a fair tax on gas drilling that will help the environment and communities dealing with the impacts of drilling,�?? said Jarrett. “And we fully intend to hold them to this promise.�??

PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization that advances policies to protect and improve the state’s environment and economy. With offices in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, West Chester, and Wilkes-Barre, PennFuture’s activities include litigating cases before regulatory bodies and in local, state and federal courts, advocating and advancing legislative action on a state and federal level, public education, and assisting citizens in public advocacy.