Tuesday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips 11.1.22

Are You Telling Your Story?

Senate returns to session November 15 [Adjourn for year]

     -- Committee Schedule

House returns to session November 14, 15, 16 [Adjourn for year]

     -- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

 

THURSDAY 9:00: DCNR Grant Workshop Webinar For Recreation And Conservation Projects.  9:00 a.m. to Noon

 

-- Independent Fiscal Office Estimates CY 2022 Drilling Impact Fee Will Generate Record $274.8 Million In Revenue At Lowest Tax Rate On Record  [PaEN]

 

-- On-Demand Webinar: Creating A Healthy Home And Community With Shale Gas Development In Your Neighborhood  [PaEN]

 

-- York Dispatch Editorial: Energy Companies Are Reporting Record Profits, PA Lawmakers Don’t Need To Give Them More Tax Breaks  [PaEN]

 

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: Clean Jobs, Energy And Air Are On The Ballot In PA, Choose Candidates With Care - Environmental Defense Fund

 

-- PA Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Will Accept Applications Starting Nov. 1 [PaEN]

 

-- WESA: Heating Bill Assistance Program Now Accepting Applications

 

-- Dept. Of Agriculture Celebrates Farm Conservation, Sustainable Ag Programs With Funding From PA Farm Bill

 

-- Pocono Record: Report: Microplastics Found In Some Of Cleanest Streams In Poconos, Across PA

 

-- Williamsport Sun: PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Detected In Middle Susquehanna Just Below Williamsport In June 

 

-- Republican Herald: Stream Restoration Work To Benefit Sweet Arrow Lake Near Pine Grove

 

-- PA Organization For Watersheds & Rivers Hosts Nov. 15 Webinar On Technology & Tips For Volunteer Management  [PaEN]

 

-- Lancaster Clean Water Partners Newsletter: No Tricks, Just Amazing Momentum Across Lancaster!

 

-- Gov. Wolf Releases $40 Million In Capital Budget Funding, Including 3 Projects To Redevelop Brownfields, Recycle Plastics  [PaEN]

 

-- Inquirer: Suburban Philly Office Parks Now Have Millions Of Square Feet Of Vacant Offices That Could Be Repurposed Or Torn Down

 

-- PA Resources Council Hosts In-Person, Virtual Workshops On Backyard Composting In November [PaEN]

 

-- York Dispatch: Improvements Planned For More Than 2,000 Acres Of Protected Land In York County

 

-- DCNR, USDA Forest Service Sign Shared Forest Stewardship Agreement

 

-- Penn State Extension Hosts 5-Part Pennsylvania Forest Webinar Series Starting Nov. 8  [PaEN]

 

-- Forests For The Chesapeake Bay: October Newsletter - Forests For The Bats Stories; Fall Tree Plantings In PA; Monster Trunk Tally Photo Contest Winners

 

-- PennLive: Bikeshare Program Launched In Harrisburg Area

 

-- TribLive: Public Input Meetings Will Focus On Proposed Nature, Art Park In Hempfield, Westmoreland County

 

-- Bradford Era: Wildlife Biologist Gary Alt Paid A Price For Healthier Deer Herd, But Says It Was Worth It

 

-- WESA: New Glass Panes At Pittsburgh’s National Aviary Will Make Things Safer For Birds

 

-- Williamsport Sun - Bill Bower: Reflections In Nature - Turkey Vultures Are Scavengers, Not Hunters

 

6th Oil/Natural Gas Spike: True Energy Independence Means Renewables

[There Is No Limit To What Oil/Natural Gas Industry Can Make You Pay]

 

-- PennLive: Average Gasoline Price In PA Over $4/Gallon While Prices Nationally Decline, Here’s Why 

 

-- York Dispatch Editorial: Energy Companies Are Reporting Record Profits, PA Lawmakers Don’t Need To Give Them More Tax Breaks  [PaEN]

 

--  Bloomberg: Oil May Hit $100 On Russian Supply Drop, Says IEF

 

-- Reuters: U.S. LNG Natural Gas Exports Dip Slightly In October As More Cargoes Head To Asia Due To Higher Prices

 

-- Reuters: Biden Calls On Oil, Natural Gas Companies To Stop ‘War Profiteering,’ Threatens Windfall Tax

 

-- Bloomberg: Biden Warns Oil, Natural Gas Firms He’ll Seek Tax On ‘Windfall’ Profits

 

-- NYT: Biden Accuses Oil/Natural Gas Companies Of ‘War Profiteering’ And Threatens Windfall Tax

 

-- WSJ: BP Profit Boosted By Natural Gas Trading

 

-- Financial Times: BP Oil/Natural Gas To Buy Back More Shares After Profit Doubles To $8 Billion 

 

-- Reuters: U.S. Regulators Want More Data On Texas Freeport LNG Natural Gas Plant Before Restart

 

American Rescue Plan Funding

 

-- $11 Billion In Federal American Rescue Plan Funding To PA State Government, Local Governments Has Yet To Be Invested.  What’s Your Community Doing?

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- WPost: Jewish Leaders Call On Republican Candidates To Reject Antisemitic Comments [PA Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano, Dr. Oz Used As Examples]

-- PennLive: Fetterman: Dr. Oz Should Fire Staffers Who Were At Jan. 6 Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Democratic State House Candidate Assaulted At His Fayette County Home

-- Inquirer: Arab Voters Often Ignored By Political Candidate, But Shapiro Recognizes Their Voting Power

-- Inquirer Editorial: Will Republican Plans Really Make Economy Better?

-- PA Capital-Star: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects PA House Republican Claim Legislative Voting Districts Are Racially Gerrymandered  

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Elections Chief: ‘A Health Democracy Depends On Widespread Participation,’ As Nov. 8 Approaches

-- TribLive: Allegheny County Addresses Minor Mail-In Ballot Issues

-- Gov. Wolf: State Health Insurance Exchange Pennie Opens Nov. 1 For 2023 Health Coverage

-- Centre Daily Times: CDC Scores 4 PA Counties High COVID Spread: Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga

-- Governor’s Law Enforcement Commission Tackles Bias-Based Policing, Use Of Force Policies

-- Spotlight PA: Missing Traffic Stop Data From State Police Undercut 2021 Analysis For Racial Disparities

-- MCall: Commonwealth Court Rules Private Housing Development In Monroe County Cannot Bar Sex Offenders

-- The Center Square: PA Looks To Expunge Criminal Record Of Minors To ‘Get Their Lives Back On Track’

-- PennLive: Allenwood Prison Guard’s Stabbing Was ISIS Terrorist Attack, Prosecutors Say

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Bill Would Prove Fiction Publicly-Funded Sports Venues Are Good Economic Investment

-- Spotlight PA: Penn State’s New President Led A Kentucky University Through Crisis, This Is Her Story

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[Posted: November 1, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

York Dispatch Editorial: Energy Companies Are Reporting Record Profits, PA Lawmakers Don’t Need To Give Them More Tax Breaks

This editorial first appeared in the York Dispatch October 31, 2022--

Surprise, surprise.

On their way out the town last week, our lawmakers in Harrisburg rushed through a raft of tax credits aimed squarely at big business and wealthy individuals.

You can argue the merits of various components of the massive bill: It covers a wide swath of special interests, giving away $15 million in tax breaks for milk processors and $20 million to semiconductor and biomedical manufacturers. That's probably why it passed both chambers with wide bipartisan support.

But make no mistake. This legislation does vanishingly little for ordinary Pennsylvanians, who need not worry about estimating their tax payments — another component of the bill that makes life easier for high-income residents.

Indeed, this legislation lines the pockets of corporations that are already raking in record profits.

The most galling proposals are the $50 million per year in annual tax breaks to create a program to convert fracked natural gas into hydrogen and an additional $30 million per year in tax breaks for petrochemical and fertilizer manufacturers. That's on top of the existing $27 million in tax breaks these companies enjoy.

Shell, which is eyeing the Pittsburgh area for just the kind of "hydrogen hub" that would benefit from the former tax credit, brought in near-record profits thanks to higher energy prices all of us are experiencing.

On Thursday, Shell reported third-quarter earnings of $9.5 billion, its second-highest quarterly profit on record. Simultaneously, it announced a plan to increase its shareholder dividend by 15 percent and to buy back $4 billion worth of shares.

The company is so profitable it can freely spend those earnings to boost its stock price and pay back investors. And Shell is hardly alone. Exxon Mobil and Chevron also recently announced record profits.

All of this new corporate welfare comes at a time when Pennsylvania's minimum wage has languished at $7.25 since 2008.

So ... why is Pennsylvania giving handouts to Shell and other energy companies?

For one thing, the natural gas industry spent a combined $70 million on lobbying in Harrisburg between 2007 and mid-2018 and at least another $11 million on campaign contributions over the same period, according to data analysis by the Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania. Shell alone accounted for $1.6 million of those lobbying expenditures.

Working class people can't possibly compete against that kind of political clout.

Former state Environmental Secretary Patrick McDonnell, now the head of environmental group PennFuture, called the raft of tax credits "a polluter's dream come true."

State Sen. Katie Muth, D-Montgomery County, attempted to amend the bill with a provision forcing lawmakers to disclose any financial ties that could allow them to personally benefit from the tax credits. She also pitched a change that would require an Independent Fiscal Office study of the long-range impact of these giveaways.

Alas, Muth's attempt to force some accountability into the process was easily swatted down.

She described the tax credits — and the opaque legislative process that led to their swift and largely unscrutinized passage — as fiscal negligence.

We agree.

Now, the bill sits on the desk of Gov. Tom Wolf. We strongly urge him not to sign it.

NewsClips:

-- TribLive Editorial: State Fines Should Be Higher Than Tax Cuts To Penalize Environmental Leaks [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald Editorial: State Lawmakers Should Adopt Rules That Preclude State Taxpayers From Subsidizing Pollution From Oil & Gas Industry  [PaEN]

-- Citizens Voice Editorial: Subsidizing Pollution - Taxpayers Pay $1.7 Billion To Subsidize Shell Ethane Plant In Beaver County

-- Scranton Times/Republican Herald Editorial: Legislators Like Plastics, Expect More  [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Dangerous Course For Oil & Gas Well Emissions, Obstructionists Should Get Out Of The Way  [PaEN]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Tax Credit Bill Gifts Natural Gas, Dirty Hydrogen With $4 Billion In Taxpayer Subsidies - By Patrick McDonnell, PennFuture

-- Citizens Voice Editorial: State Insists On Paying Polluters  [PaEN]

Related Articles:

-- Senate, House Pass Massive, 20-Year Taxpayer Subsidies For Natural Gas, Hydrogen And Petrochemical Industries In Hours With No Public Accountability Or Environmental Safeguards [PaEN]

-- Bill Goes To Governor Creating Well Plugging Grant Program; Senate, House Again Fail To Address Woefully Inadequate Conventional Well Plugging Bonding  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Independent Fiscal Office Estimates CY 2022 Drilling Impact Fee Will Generate Record $274.8 Million In Revenue At Lowest Tax Rate On Record  [PaEN]

-- On-Demand Webinar: Creating A Healthy Home And Community With Shale Gas Development In Your Neighborhood  [PaEN]

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: Clean Jobs, Energy And Air Are On The Ballot In PA, Choose Candidates With Care - Environmental Defense Fund

-- Pocono Record: Report: Microplastics Found In Some Of Cleanest Streams In Poconos, Across PA

-- Williamsport Sun: PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Detected In Middle Susquehanna Just Below Williamsport In June 

-- PennLive: Average Gasoline Price In PA Over $4/Gallon While Prices Nationally Decline, Here’s Why 

-- Reuters: Biden Calls On Oil, Natural Gas Companies To Stop ‘War Profiteering,’ Threatens Windfall Tax

-- Financial Times: BP Oil/Natural Gas To Buy Back More Shares After Profit Doubles To $8 Billion

[Posted: November 1, 2022]  PA Environment Digest