Natural Gas Use, Tax Pushed by Pennsylvania GOP
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
22 September 2010
By Brad Bumsted and Andrew Conte
HARRISBURG -- Pennsylvania could become the first to fuel its state
vehicle fleet with natural gas, but it remains the last major
gas-producing state with massive reserves that doesn't levy an
extraction tax, lawmakers and environmentalists said Tuesday.
State House Republicans want to lead the way by converting the fleet
and building natural-gas stations at every other stop along the
turnpike. It will help create demand as companies drill a mile deep
into the Marcellus shale formation, said House GOP Policy Chairman Stan
Saylor of York County.
But the industry needs to pay up to pump more into environmental
protection programs, activists said at a Capitol rally.
"For three years, the Marcellus shale industry has gone untaxed in
Pennsylvania," said Rep. Camille "Bud" George, D-Clearfield County, who
chairs an environmental oversight panel. George told those rallying
it's a benefit "not afforded in any other major gas-producing state."
Members of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council said the Legislature
needs to approve the tax this fall, using a portion of the money for
environmental programs such as Growing Greener. Don Welsh, the
council's president and CEO, said the program, which supports
environmental initiatives statewide, is running out of money and could
use an infusion of cash from the gas industry.
"A Marcellus shale production tax is a fair way to raise the funds
needed," Welsh said in a statement.
At the rally, a coalition of environmental groups pushed for stricter
regulation of the industry, with some advocating a moratorium. Gathered
on the Rotunda steps, some activists carried signs saying, "What 'da
frack?" and "Water Is Life."
Much of the concern among environmentalists has centered on the
drilling practice known as "fracking," in which drillers shoot water,
sand and chemicals into the shale to fracture it and free the gas. Some
worry that water will pollute streams or drinking water.
A giant screw atop a truck was parked in front of the Capitol to
symbolically represent how activist Gene Stilp, a candidate for the
state House, views the natural gas industry's impact on Pennsylvania.
Drilling "is not necessarily a bad thing," said Khara Jacobson, 33, an
environmental science student at Harrisburg Area Community College who
attended the rally. "They're just not doing it properly," she
contended. "And there are a lot of issues with frack water."
The state House and Senate leadership agreed before recessing in July
to approve a tax by Oct. 1. But only three weeks remain in the session,
and lawmakers say there are numerous details to resolve. There's no
outward sign that the tax proposal is nearing final form, and today is
considered a "token" session day in the House when no votes will be
taken.
The move to natural gas-powered state vehicles is a major component of
a $55 million Republican plan called "Marcellus Works" that lawmakers
debuted at a Capitol news conference.
Saylor said the plan is not a House GOP statement against a severance
tax. Each member will decide whether to support a tax if it comes to a
vote, he said.
Saylor said he would start by converting the state's 16,000-vehicle
fleet to natural gas vehicles as older vehicles are replaced. It costs
about $10,000 to convert a car to a natural gas fuel supply -- about
the same differential for a new natural gas-powered vehicle, GOP
staffers said. Saylor said natural gas would cost about $1 per gallon
less than gasoline.
"You want to be 'green,' absolutely," said Doug Holmes, transportation
director at Penn State University. But if a Penn State employee drives
to another campus in a university-owned car, "they have to have enough
fuel to get back and not spend hours looking for a place to refuel," he
said.
Brad Bumsted and Andrew Conte can be reached at bbumsted@tribweb.com or
717-787-1405.