Saturday NewsClips

Chesapeake Restoration Plan Challenged In Court
Feds Revise Schedule For Crafting Asian Carp Plan
DEP Considers Partial Bond Release For Amerikohl Site
New Landfill Gas Wells Supply Methane To New Holland
Chesapeake Energy Violated Clean Water Act In WV
Marcellus Companies Test BBQ Wits
Utica Shale May Hold 38 Trillion Cubic Feet Of Gas
FirstEnergy Considers Conversion Of Power Plants
Go Green Bike Tour Set For Sunday
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Oct. 8 PA Environment Digest Now Available

The Oct. 8 PA Environment Digest now available.  Click Here to print entire Digest.

Member Of DCNR’s Conservation Advisory Council Resigns

The Patriot-News reported Thursday Paulette Viola, a member of DCNR’s Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council since the mid-1990s, resigned from her position saying the Corbett Administration made it impossible for the Council to “effectively and efficiently meet the spirit of the law or its responsibility to the public.”

Viola was quoted by the Patriot-News as saying the council has lost its independence as an advisory body, has lost its executive director and its secretary, has had its budget disproportionately slashed and has been slowly starved of information and greeted with a "hostile atmosphere created by the administration for public input."

She told the Patriot-News she believed what's happening to the council goes well beyond budget concerns.

"We were provided information that the Secretary believed we acted outside our jurisdiction," she said. "He suggested that we were only to comment on things in DCNR and not on resources in Pennsylvania in general."

Viola said in the past the council has commented on the deer population and it's effect on regeneration of the forest, believing it an appropriate concern for DCNR.

More recently, she said, the council has been investigating drilling.

She said the council has held at least two day-long field trips to drilling sites and hosted public forums on drilling on public lands.

"Of all the resource management topics, that is the one we've spent the most time on," she said.

Since its creation, the primary concern of the council, Viola said, has always been effective public input on policy issues.

That mission, she said, is now in jeopardy.

A spokesperson for DCNR said, “Paulette has served many years on Council and we thank her for those years of service. DCNR welcomes feedback and input from council members, including Paulette's unique perspective. However, DCNR does not believe the points made in her resignation letter are factual, nor do we agree with them.

“DCNR will continue to support the work of the council, and we value its advice and recommendations. We look forward to working with the new council appointee and will welcome a fresh perspective.”

Viola was appointed to the DCNR Advisory Council during the Ridge Administration.  The Council was formed in 1995 when the former Department of Environmental Resources was reorganized into the Department of Environmental Protection and DCNR.
In addition to the Secretary of DCNR, the Council is made up of 18 members appointed by Governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House.
The Council is charged with giving advice to DCNR on conservation issues and “shall review all conservation and natural resources laws of the Commonwealth and make appropriate suggestions for the revision, modification and codification.”
NewsClips:

DCNR State Parks Director Stepping Down
DCNR Resignations Point To Fissures, Frustration

Friday NewsClips

DCNR State Parks Director Stepping Down
DCNR Resignations Point To Fissures, Frustration
Positioning For A Boom From Cracker Plant
Keystone Landfill Asks To Double Intake Of Drilling Waste
DEP Accused Of Permit Notice Dishonesty
Map Takes Visitors Along Loyalhanna Creek
Dams, Locks Deteriorating Faster Than Being Replaced
PA Environmental Council Awards Pocono Grants
Canoe Creek State Park Improvements Require Lake Drainage
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Thursday NewsClips

Penn State Stops Work On Marcellus Gas Report
UGI Appeals Compressor Station Decision
Photography And Marcellus Shale Drilling Debate
Clean Air Council, DEP Spar Over Emissions Aggregation
Water Quality Workshop Saturday In Uniontown
Director Of State Park System Resigning
Editorial: National Park Services Abandons Its Mission
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Wednesday NewsClips

Cabot’s Study Links Tainted Water Wells To Gas Fracking
Marcellus Suits Claim Pay Abuses
Experts: Gasoline Prices Could Keep Setting Records
Wyoming Wind Farm To Be Operational By New Year
Susquehanna-Roseland Transmission Line Gets Final OK
PJM Implements Pay For Performance Model For Regulatory Service
PennDOT Promotes Safe Walking, Bicycling
Friends Of Drake Well Honor Preservationist
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Corbett Honored By Petroleum Distributors For Keeping Strong Refinery Presence In Southeast Pennsylvania

The PA Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, Empire State Petroleum Association of New York and the Petroleum Marketers Association of America honored Gov. Tom Corbett for his efforts to keep a strong refinery presence in Southeast Pennsylvania as part of their annual convention and trade show at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center Tuesday.
In 2011 ConocoPhillips and Sunoco announced plans to permanently close their refineries in South Philadelphia, Marcus Hook and Trainer unless buyers were found, not only directly putting at risk 2,500 good-paying jobs, but another 25,000 jobs in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
For petroleum product distributors, this would have meant fewer refineries to supply gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuel to customers in the Mid-Atlantic Region leading to the potential of not only higher prices, but petroleum product shortages.
However, in May Gov. Corbett announced the Commonwealth would help support the sale of the refinery in Trainer to Delta Air Lines preventing its permanent closure.  In July Gov. Corbett was a key player in closing the deal for selling the Sunoco’s Philadelphia refinery to the Carlyle Group and continuing its operation as a reborn facility to process Marcellus Shale natural gas products.

"Had the refineries in Southeastern Pennsylvania closed, it would have had a domino effect on motor fuel and heating oil supply and price along the whole East Coast," said Dan Gilligan, President, Petroleum Marketers Association of America. "PMAA commends Gov. Corbett for his leadership role in maintaining a strong petroleum  presence in the region.”

“Marketers in  New York were extremely concerned when the potential closings of the Southeast Pennsylvania refineries were announced last fall,” said Thomas J Peters, Executive Vice President, Empire State Petroleum Association, the New York trade group.  “Gov. Corbett's action to maintain oil refinery production in the Philadelphia area provides stability in the markets not just in Pennsylvania, but the Mid-Atlantic region as well,”

“Most people are not aware that the supply system in Pennsylvania for gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuel has primarily consisted of  pipelines that transport product from the Southeast to pipeline terminals in the west and north,” said John V Kulik, Executive Vice President, PPMCSA. “Our members transport the petroleum products from the terminals to customers across the state.

“According to industry observers and the federal government, had all the refineries closed this past summer, consumers across the Commonwealth would no doubt have been jolted by spot supply outages gasoline price spikes and difficulties-perhaps crossing the five dollar a gallon threshold,” explained Kulik.

“The Governor is to be commended for his  leadership in keeping the refineries operating in the Southeast and preserving jobs in that region,” said Kulik.  “But his action resonated far beyond that immediate area.  Pennsylvania would have been dependent on Gulf Coast refineries, a pipeline that crosses 11 states, and increased import from Asia.  

“It is far better for the economy of Pennsylvania and the surrounding states to have a refinery nearby than to depend exclusively on imports from thousands-and tens of thousand miles away,” added Kulik. “We thank Gov. Corbett for keeping Pennsylvania moving.”

The PPMCSA/ESPA Trade Show annually attracts over 1,000 attendees from Pennsylvania, New York and around the United States.

Tuesday NewsClips

State Tax Collections Were Up A Tad In September
Editorial: Corbett MIA On Transportation Funding
Shell Cracker Plant Offers To Pay $7.6 Million In Lieu Of Taxes
Shell Cracker Plant Offers To Compensate For Tax Loses
Six PA Counties Account For Most Gas Production
Wyoming Pipeline Now Up And Running
PVR Starts Operating Marcellus Shale Pipeline In PA
Faulty Sensor Shut Down Natural Gas Station
Shift By NY On Drilling Prompts Anger, Praise
NY Expected To Miss Fracking Deadline
Fewer Drill Rigs, Shale Gas Production Rises
Doubts Raised Over Legitimacy Of Levee Fees
PA Environmental Council To Launch Energy Audit Program
Bass Fishing, Gas Drilling Meet In Pittsburgh
PA To Sell Multi-Year Fishing Licenses
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DEP Calls Clean Air Council Refinery Lawsuit Stab In The Back To Workers

The Clean Air Council is challenging a decision by environmental regulators to allow the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery to claim credit for a reduction in emissions caused by the closure of Sunoco's Marcus Hook refinery.
           The council on Monday sued to stop the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from considering the Philadelphia refinery and the closed Marcus Hook refinery as one single air-pollution source. The decision would allow the new owners of the Philadelphia refinery to emit more pollution, at least temporarily.
           The arrangement to give the Philadelphia refinery credit for the Marcus Hook emissions was one of the cornerstones of a deal to induce the Carlyle Group to take over operating Sunoco's Philadelphia refinery. The Carlyle-Sunoco joint venture, known as Philadelphia Energy Solutions, became official this month.
           DEP Reaction
           DEP Secretary Mike Krancer issued the following statement late Friday in response to the Clean Air Council's legal action:
          "This baseless suit by the so-called "Clean Air Council" stabs in the back 22,000 union and other workers and their families in Southeastern PA. A year ago, we faced the death of this refinery and along with it, tens of thousands of local jobs; a way of life in the Delaware Valley; and a real threat to our nation's security in our own ability to refine oil on shore. Today, through Governor Corbett's leadership and bipartisan work between federal and state officials, as well as labor, management and the private sector investment firm, we found a solution which saved the refinery and protected the environment.
           "Ultimately, overall emissions will be lower through, among other things, the use of lower sulfur Bakken Crude oil from North Dakota, which is extracted by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, and the facility's use of Pennsylvania natural gas for on-site power generation. It is shameful that this out-of-touch, extreme organization would for no reason jeopardize the livelihoods and way of life of so many people and also jeopardize America's ability to refine oil on our own shores."
           Steelworkers Reaction To Lawsuit
           United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard offered the following statement in response to a suit filed by the Clean Air Council:
           "While we value the work of the Clean Air Council, and have long shared its goal of a cleaner, healthier environment, we respectfully disagree with its actions in this case.
           "The compromise that allowed the Philadelphia refinery to be sold was a positive outcome after months of hard work by USW members, local, state and national leaders, and environmental officials. This agreement will mean nearly 1,000 good-paying jobs at the plant, as well as thousands more jobs created or saved in the community and along the supply chain.
           "At a time when unemployment and other economic hardships are still a reality for so many families, we believe it is in the best interests of everyone involved to allow this agreement to go forward.
           "In addition, this arrangement will, over the long term, mean cleaner overall emissions and cleaner air through the use of lower-sulfur crude oil and the use of natural gas for power generation."

Monday NewsClips

Litterbugs Keep Volunteers Busy Cleaning Up Roadsides
Leases For Gas Drillers Don’t Last Forever
Noise From Gas Dehydration Station Startles Neighbors
Rulemaking Will Likely Delay NY Drilling
Vegetable Oil to Fight Contamination At LSI Site
Electric Line, What’s At Stake For Delaware Water Gap?
Editorial: Mosquitoes Have Become Major Concern
Earth Conservancy Turns 4,010 Acres Into Green Space
Ned Smith Center Wildlife Art Auction Oct. 6
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