Commonwealth Court Tuesday denied an application by the PA Environmental Defense Foundation to reconsider its January 7 ruling upholding the state’s ability to shift funds out of DCNR’s Oil and Gas Fund to balance the state budget.
The reconsideration asked the court to reconsider because the judges did not address its fundamental claim: that the state failed to perform its constitutional duty to evaluate the likely environmental impact before leasing tens of thousands of acres of state forests for natural gas extraction and transferring the money out of the conservation fund controlled by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The FY 2014-15 state budget still anticipates another $95 million in revenue will be pulled from the Oil and Gas Fund to balance the budget.
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