Watershed Association Capacity Building Assistance Now Available For Western PA

The Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management and the Western PA Conservancy are again teaming up to provide watershed associations with capacity building services in Western Pennsylvania.
Applications for the services are due December 21.
This year the sponsors are looking for community watershed organizations who want to improve their internal governance and leadership, community partnerships, financial and human resources, and other organizational issues.
For this third year of the program, the sponsors are considering offering a spectrum of services tailored to the needs of each organization, rather than a year-long, full-service consultation.
This means that if you think your group is in need of any organizational development, you should fill out and return the application. More detailed information will be provided after all applications are reviewed. The groups expect to begin consultation work in April 2012, contingent upon funding.
A copy of the application and more details are available online. For more information, contact Gwen Johnson, Project Coordinator, FPW, by calling 814-669-4244 or send email to: GwenJohnson@PennsylvaniaWatersheds.org.

Sunday NewsClips

House OKs An Impact Fee Bill For Shale
Pickett Endorses Marcellus Drilling Standards Bill

Senate Sends Statewide Marcellus Shale Drilling Fee Bill To House

House Rs Send Optional, County-Adopted Drilling Fee Bill To Senate

Poll: 72 Percent Support Tax On Drilling Companies

7.5 Million Pennsylvanians Support Growing Greener Renewal

Analysis: 2 Marcellus Bills Passed, Where Do We Go From Here? Easy!

PA Lawmakers Differ On Gas Drilling
Activists Join Senator To Oppose Drilling Regs
Dozens Rally Against Gas Drilling
Growing Tensions Over Drilling In Delaware Basin
Gas Company Whistle-Blower Details Spills, Errors
PA Tries To Avert Fights Between Towns, Drillers
Cheaper Green Energy For Sale
Click Here for PA Capitol Digest

Saturday NewsClips

DRBC Puts Off Vote On Natural Gas Drilling
DRBC Delays Controversial Vote On Fracking Rules
DRBC Gas Drilling Vote Postponed
Corbett: Politics Not Science Driving DRBC Drilling Debate
Key Delaware River Gas Drilling Vote Postponed
House Drilling Fee Could Still Limit Local Governments
Shell Will Decide On Ethane Plant In January
Acid Mine Drainage Technology Could Aid Marcellus Shale Drilling
Cleaner, Greener And Healthier
3 York Businesses Get Energy-Efficiency Grants
Click Here for PA Capitol Digest

Nov. 21 PA Environment Digest Now Available

Nov. 21 PA Environment Digest now available. Click Here to print this Digest.

Senate, House Send Each Other Marcellus Shale Drilling Fee Bills, Now What? While a series of competing press events this week for and against school vouchers echoed in the Capitol Rotunda, the Senate and House spent most of their time debating competing proposals for a Marcellus Shale drilling fee and additional environmental protection measures. The Senate Tuesday voted 29 to 20 to pass Senate Bill 1100 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson), which includes a uniform, statewide Marcellus Shale drilling fee that would raise $154.6 million in 2012 and a laundry list of additional environmental protection measures.

House Republicans Thursday voted 107 to 76 to pass their version of a Marcellus Shale bill-- House Bill 1950 (Ellis-R-Butler)-- which includes a county-optional drilling fee and a dozen provisions strengthening environmental protection measures on Marcellus Shale drilling.

Even though both bills were passed almost exclusively by Republicans in both the Senate and House, they are significantly different in fundamental ways, like on the drilling fee, but in some cases the environmental protection provisions overlap.

The Gov. Corbett and members of the Senate and House have all said they want to pass a final bill by the time the General Assembly adjourns for the year.

Marcellus Stories

Senate Sends Statewide Marcellus Shale Drilling Fee Bill To House

House Republicans Send Optional, County-Adopted Drilling Fee Bill To Senate

Poll: 72 Percent Support Tax On Drilling Companies

Local Governments With 7.5 Million Pennsylvanians Support Growing Greener Renewal

Analysis: Senate, House Each Passed Marcellus Bills, Where Do We Go From Here? Easy!

DRBC Postpones November 21 Meeting On Drilling Rules, No New Date Set

The Delaware River Basin Commission today announced that the special meeting scheduled for Nov. 21 to consider draft natural gas development regulations has been postponed to allow additional time for review by the five commission members. No additional information is available at this time. Click Here for the notice.

Analysis: Senate, House Each Passed Marcellus Bills, Where Do We Go From Here? Easy!

Senate and House Republicans each passed bills this week that would impose a Marcellus Shale drilling fee and enact the most sweeping measures the state has ever adopted to protect the Commonwealth's land and water from the potential impact of natural gas drilling.
The bills, in particular their approaches to imposing a drilling fee, are significantly different. The provisions relating to protecting the environment are different, but do overlap in many areas. And House Bill 1950 (Ellis-R-Butler) has several major provisions Senate Bill 1100 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) does not, including major support for the Growing Greener Program through a transfer from DCNR's Oil and Gas Fund.

On the surface it would seem reconciling these differences would be a heavy lift, but if you look more closely, there is a path forward.

Drilling Fee/Program Funding

There are two parts to resolving the drilling fee and funding issues between the bills-- what to do with the fee and whether to use the Oil and Gas Fund to support Growing Greener and other programs.

Thanks to Grover Norquist's pronouncement that the fee in House Bill 1950 is indeed a tax and with the overwhelming vote of House Republicans and Senate Republicans for drilling fees in both bills, the issue of how to avoid the fee being called a tax is completely off the table.

House and Senate Republicans have said with their votes, "so what if it's a tax, we need it anyway."

Once relieved of that burden, members are free to design a fee system that is clean, simple and easy to administer and that argues for the Senate version of the fee-- a uniform fee, collected by the state, not an optional, county-adopted fee which was only proposed originally in such a convoluted form to avoid the "no-tax" label.

The House bill uses DCNR's Oil and Gas Fund to support the all-but-bankrupt Growing Greener Program that is critical to Pennsylvania meeting its obligations under the federal Clean Water Act and restoring the state's green infrastructure.

This proposal is supported by the Renew Growing Greener Coalition and a great way of investing the drilling royalties now coming in from State Forest lands in restoring the environment.

This transfer should be in the final bill, but it should not go to support the version of Growing Greener expanded by Gov. Rendell to include alternative energy and economic development projects like parking garages. It should be focused on the original priorities of the program-- mine reclamation, watershed restoration, farmland preservation and wastewater and drinking water projects.

There are some issues to resolve between specific items and amounts the Senate fee and the House fee and the Oil and Gas Fund support, but those could be worked out once this broader framework is set.

Environmental Protection

Both bills include a laundry list of measures to protect the environment from the potential impacts of Marcellus Shale drilling. The problem is they overlap, use different setback numbers and one bill has provisions the other does not.

Solution? Pick the most stringent provision covering each issue in the bills.

There are several tweaks and additions to these provisions needed based on the Governor's Marcellus Shale Commission report and recommended by the PA Environmental Council and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation--

-- Strengthen Permit Reviews: The permitting process must be enhanced to ensure that all appropriate site data is collected and assessed to be certain that all conditions have been properly addressed before drilling activity begins.

-- Identify Areas Where Drilling Is Prohibited: The Act should grant DEP greater ability to identify areas where drilling may be further restricted or prohibited; including areas of recognized high ecological value, floodplains, or in close proximity to public water supplies.

-- Track Water Use, Disposal: DEP should also be given clear authority for more robust water resource management, such as water withdrawal review and public reporting of wastewater reuse or disposal.

-- Real Well Setbacks: Meaningful setbacks must be created for well sites and should require best management practices when site conditions warrant. The act should set a floor, not a ceiling, of what is required of operators.

-- Spill Containment: DEP should be tasked to implement a review of spill containment systems at Marcellus Shale well sites. This analysis will lead to the new containment practices, structures, and procedures to safeguard the public and environmental quality.

-- Bonding/Financial Guarantees: Financial assurance for well site operations must, at an absolute minimum, match the potential costs associated with well site accidents or other impacts. Blanket bonds are insufficient.

Land Use And Other Provisions
With the local government associations now in apparent agreement on provisions in both bills relating to local regulation of drilling operations, this major issue has been taken off the table for most groups.
Another provision of concern to the environmental community-- private reviews of permit applications, the so-called expedited permit review-- was taken out of the House bill, resolving another concern.
This all sounds easy, right? In reality, everyone knows it won't be easy to resolve the differences between the Senate and House in a bill the Governor will sign, but if you look at it, it isn't overwhelming.

The Senate and House are now scheduled to adjourn for the year December 14.

Get busy!

Friday NewsClips

House Passes Its Version Of Marcellus Shale Rules, Fees
Gas Impact Fee Bill Wins In House
PA Senate, House Must Resolve Shale Tax Bills
PA Gas Drilling Fees Hold A Variety Of Conflicts
House Approves Impact Fee Bill
Norquist Calls House Marcellus Fee Tax
Monday DRBC Meeting On Drilling Rules In Doubt
Delaware Set To Vote No On DRBC Regulations
Drilling Halted After Spill Into NW PA Reservoir
Tests Show Dimock Water Still Fouled
Sunoco Ethane Pipeline Plan Faces Hurdles
Marcellus Shale Coalition Elects New Board
NRDC Report Says Philadelphia Tops For Green Infrastructure
Lower Marion Workshop On Homeowner Stormwater Management
Toomey Targeted For Slacking On Environment
Editorial: DEP And Monsour Medical Center Cleanup
Local Officials Tout Smart Growth As Lancaster's Model
Barn Owl Seen In Southwest PA For First Time In Decade
Click Here for PA Capitol Digest

House Cancels Voting Days Next Week, Committee Meetings

Speaker Sam Smith just announced the House is canceling voting session for next week. The House will return to session December 5. The Speaker said the House will add voting days in December. Details will be announced.

As a result of the announcement, there was a flurry of announcements canceling committee meetings next week in response to the schedule change, including the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meeting.

House Republicans Send Optional, County-Adopted Drilling Fee Bill To Senate

After more than 15 hours of debate over three days, House Republicans voted 107 to 76 to pass their version of a Marcellus Shale bill-- House Bill 1950 (Ellis-R-Butler)-- which includes an optional, county-adopted drilling fee, transfers from DCNR's Oil and Gas Fund and provisions strengthening environmental protection measures on Marcellus Shale drilling.

This follows action by the Senate Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 1100 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson), their version of Marcellus legislation which includes a uniform, statewide Marcellus Shale drilling fee and a slightly different list of additional environmental protection measures.

Even though both bills were passed almost exclusively by Republicans in both the Senate and House, they are significantly different in fundamental ways, like on the drilling fee, but in many cases the environmental protection provisions overlap.

The Gov. Corbett and members of the Senate and House have all said they want to pass a final bill by the time the General Assembly adjourns for the year on December 14.

Amendments Added

After considering 51 of the more than 100 amendments proposed to the bill, House Republicans cut off debate and more amendments by making a motion for the previous question and voting 105 to 88 to move the bill to Second Consideration.
The motion ended the ability of members to offer amendments to the bill without suspending the rules. Suspending the rules requires a two-thirds vote.

While House Republicans defeated most of the amendments offered to the bill or declared them unconstitutional before a substantive vote, several were approved, including a change to the provision wanted by Gov. Corbett to preempt local regulation of drilling as a land use.

Local Regulation

Rep. Matt Baker (R-Tioga) offered a gut and replace amendment that included only one change in the language. It replaced the blanket preemption of local regulation of drilling sought by Gov. Corbett with an approach used by the Senate in Senate Bill 1100 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) loosely based on the ACRE Program which offers a process to challenge local ordinances limiting agricultural operations.

The language would allow drilling companies to request the Attorney General to review local ordinances to determine whether the ordinance allows for the reasonable development of oil and gas mineral rights.

Optional Drilling Fee

No changes were made to the optional county-adopted drilling fee advocated by Gov. Corbett and included in House Bill 1950.

If any counties adopt the drilling fee, money raised would be split between the local communities in which the fee is enacted and the Commonwealth, with 25 percent of the revenues going to the state and 75 percent remaining at the local level.

Of the state’s share, 70 percent would be used to fund road and bridge repairs related to well impacts. The remaining 30 percent would be split up among environmental programs, health initiatives and state emergency response activities.

Of the 75 percent of revenues that would go to the local governments, 36 percent would go to the county in which the well is located, 37 percent would go to the municipality in which the well is located, and 27 percent would be distributed to all municipalities within the host county using a formula based on miles of highway and population.

Oil & Gas Fund Transfers

Another provision in House Bill 1950 would transfer funds out of DCNR's Oil and Gas Fund to provide the Environmental Stewardship (Growing Greener) Fund with $1.2 billion over 10 years, but it is the version of Growing Greener as expanded by Gov. Rendell to include alternative energy and economic development projects like parking garages.

These are not the narrowly focused priorities established in the original Growing Greener Program proposed by Gov. Ridge-- mine reclamation, watershed restoration, farmland preservation and wastewater and drinking water projects.

Transfers would also be used to fund county conservation districts, the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund and to increase in-lieu of tax payments for state owned land.

Other Amendments

Three amendments by Rep. Bud George (D-Clearfield), Minority Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, which further provides for affect of pre-drilling surveys, another giving residents living between 2,500 to 5,500 feet of a well the right to a pre-drilling survey and a change removing expedited permit reviews through private third-party consultants.

Amendments were added by Rep. John Mahr (R-Allegheny) to make certain reports required by the Oil and Gas Act public records, requiring the soundproofing of compressor stations within 2,500 feet of a dwelling, requiring the drilling fee to be paid whether a Marcellus well is producing or not and several technical amendments.

Another amendment by Rep. Mahr to increase the bonding amount for the reconstruction of roads from $6,000 to $250,000 per mile was defeated 151 to 42.

Amendments by Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford) requiring further notification of landowners and water companies on pre-drilling surveys and two amendments offered by Rep. Dan Moul (R-Adams) creating a $5 million and a $7.5 million natural gas vehicle conversion grant and loan programs funded by the DCNR Oil and Gas Fund for certain transit systems were also adopted.

An amendment offered by Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) to require DEP to adopt protocols for air contamination emissions was also adopted.

Summary Of Bill

An updated summary and fiscal note on the bill by the House Republican Appropriations Committee is available online. A House Democratic staff summary of the bill is also available.

A summary of the county-optional drilling fee in House Bill 1950 is available online (fee only). The environmental protection provisions in House Bill 1950 mirror the measures the Governor announced in October.

Reaction (Updated)

“This is about private sector job growth and protecting our citizens and our environment, pure and simple,” said House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny). “The natural gas industry is the fastest-growing industry in the Commonwealth. The legislation passed today is a balanced approach to protecting Pennsylvania’s residents and resources and continuing the growth of this job-creating industry.”

Gov. Corbett thanked members of the House for passing House Bill 1950 saying the bill "promotes job growth, protects the environmental, includes a responsible impact fee and incorporates many of the recommendations of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission.

"I look forward to continuing to work with the members of the General Assembly to enact a fair and comprehensive Marcellus Shale package this session," Corbett said.

"Essentially, this bill ensures strong and consistent environmental standards across the state that includes revisions to the Oil and Gas Act through additional well bonding, setbacks, drinking water protections, permit reviews and new standards relating to lighting, noise, odor and security," said Rep. Matt Baker (R-Tioga). "With my amendment, we substantially raised the bar of what we expect of natural gas operators. Pennsylvania has a long and distinguished history of regulating the oil and gas industry. The standards now outlined in House Bill 1950 build upon that history and will help make Pennsylvania a national leader in energy policy, production of natural gas and job creation."

"House Bill 1950 contains significant changes in setbacks and other environmental safeguards," said Rep. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming). "The local government restrictions have been substantially modified and this bill contains funding for environmental programs like Growing Greener and the Environmental Stewardship Fund, in addition to requiring a comprehensive study of the cumulative effects on air quality. I am pleased that this bill keeps the majority of the impact fee in local areas such as ours, rather than having it turn into a state general fund money grab."

"While I am unhappy that the House chose not to consider my legislation that would dedicate funds from Marcellus Shale drilling to education and programs to help those with special needs, this bill remains a solid first step," said Rep. Thomas Murt (R-Montgomery). "I'm pleased that House Bill 1950 gives the Environmental Stewardship Fund a dedicated source of funding. This program has been key to saving park land and open space.

"While this particular impact fee was not my first choice, it marks a very significant step forward in my ongoing effort to ensure the natural gas industry is held responsible and accountable for any impacts it may have on both drilling communities and the environment statewide," said Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery). "The highlight of the legislation by far is that it provides a dedicated, reliable, long-term source of funding for the Environmental Stewardship Fund, also known as Growing Greener.

"As the architect of the Growing Greener II program, I have seen the vast, positive difference that $625 million in funding has made for farmland preservation, open space, parks and recreation, acid mine drainage cleanup and more across the state. Continued funding for this program is absolutely vital to the protection of our environment for future generations."

"This Corbett-Republican tax bill does not force these huge, out-of-state drilling companies to pay their fair share – and it fails to address the many statewide impacts of drilling activity, including environmental threats," said House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny). "This bill is more than just a gift to the oil and gas industry – It's a reckless abandonment of our responsibility to protect and defend the welfare of this Commonwealth."

"This bill would benefit only a select few – namely the drilling companies – while leaving the vast majority of Pennsylvanians with zero benefit from the development of this rich natural resource," said Democratic Whip Mike Hanna (D-Clinton). "If we are serious about protecting our environment, then we should enact a robust severance tax, not this sham of a bill."

"This bill is an absolute embarrassment," said Democratic Caucus Chairman Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny). "It has an obscenely low tax rate, inadequate environmental regulations and pitifully low bonding requirements. This is not what Pennsylvanians want. They want a serious bill that protects the interests of Pennsylvanians over the interests of the oil and gas industry."

“There are some good provisions in this bill, including providing some revenue to the Environmental Stewardship Fund, but the bill held improved environmental regulations and funding for environmental programs hostage in return for an embarrassingly low impact fee,” said Jan Jarrett PennFuture President and CEO. “Worse, the fee may vary from county to county, and it takes away the ability of local governments to manage the impact of drilling through local ordinances. Pennsylvanians want – and deserve – better."

“House Bill 1950 reflects recommendations that were carefully and thoughtfully developed by the governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission after months of research, discussion and input on how to responsibly grow and regulate the industry, and bring jobs, business opportunities and additional revenue to the Commonwealth,” said PA Chamber President and CEO Gene Barr, who served on the commission as vice chairman of its Economic and Workforce Development Subcommittee.

NOTE: This story will be updated as members release press statements.