Analysis: Where Is The Environmental Funding In Gov. Wolf’s Severance Tax Proposal?

Gov. Wolf this week proposed a new severance tax on natural gas production with no mention yet of funding for environmental restoration programs.

This is especially odd since Pennsylvania is facing significant environmental cleanup challenges including, but certainly not limited to: 220,000  acres of abandoned mine lands, with the federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fee ending in 2021 which funds the bulk of this work, and eliminating 10 pounds of nitrogen and 212 million pounds of sediment to meet our 2017 Chesapeake Bay cleanup milestones over the next 687 days.

The proposal would do away with, at least in part, although that isn’t clear either, the current Act 13 drilling impact fee.  Funding for local communities, which takes 60 percent of the current impact fee revenue, would be preserved, the proposal said, but without any additional details.

Eliminating the Act 13 drilling impact fees for the other programs would put at least $76 million in funding for these environmental programs at risk--

-- $20.5 million to PennVEST, Commonwealth Financing Authority for water and sewer projects;

-- $16.4 million to Commonwealth Financing Authority for abandoned mine reclamation, watershed restoration, water quality monitoring, abandoned oil and gas well plugging, clean energy programs;

-- $12.3 million for Greenways, recreation trails, open space, natural areas preservation;

-- $8.2 million to the Environmental Stewardship (Growing Greener) Fund for watershed restoration and other environmental projects;

-- $7.5 million annually for county conservation districts, State Conservation Commission;

-- $6 million to DEP for enforcement of clean water and clean air statutes (although there was a brief mention of this possibility after the announcement);

-- $4.1 million to Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund; and

-- $1 million to the Fish and Boat Commission for review of drilling permit applications.

Also at risk is funding for natural gas conversion and support projects, housing finance assistance, PennDOT rail freight grants and funding for the Public Utility Commission, PA Emergency Management Agency and the Office of State Fire Commissioner.

The lack of environmental restoration funding is even more glaring because three other natural gas severance tax proposals announced in recent weeks by both Republicans and Democrats included funding environmental restoration programs, like Growing Greener.

A proposal by Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery)-- House Bill 82-- would leave the current drilling impact fee in place and along with its funding for environmental programs.  Another proposal by Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks) would earmark at least $56 million for environmental programs.  A third proposal by Senators Art Haywood (D-Montgomery) and Vincent J. Hughes (D-Philadelphia) would allocate $100 million to the Environmental Stewardship (Growing Greener) Fund.

With over $2.4 billion in environmental funding cut, diverted or used to balance the state budget, including hundreds of millions of dollars from Marcellus Shale gas leases on state land, over the last 12 years, wiping out the modest funding increases to environmental restoration programs provided by the Act 13 drilling impact fees would pile more pain on an already tragic situation.

Hopefully, in the coming weeks, more details will be available on whether any environmental funding will be included in the Governor’s proposal.

If isn’t included, Pennsylvania will miss yet another opportunity to address the serious environmental problems facing the Commonwealth.

Related Stories:

CBF-PA: Severance Tax Proposal Should Including Funding For Water Quality Restoration

Growing Greener Coalition Renews Case For Environmental Funding In Severance Tax
WITF Smart Talk: Is Pennsylvania Growing Greener?

Analysis: PA Isn’t Cleaning Up Its Abandoned Mines, Streams Fast Enough