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The Marcellus Memos: Privately, Rendell's State Forest tsars expressed deep concern over leasing state forest for drilling
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The Marcellus Memos: Privately, Rendell's State Forest tsars expressed deep concern over leasing state forest for drilling
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| nag240, flickr |
| Former Secretary Michael DiBerardinis cautioned Rendell against leasing forest. |
A few days ago, we reported (and the Inquirer re-reports today) [correction: the Inquirer first reported in October, 2009] that Governor Rendell is considering authorizing yet another lease of state forest land for drilling into the Marcellus Shale, a geologic structure containing billions (if not trillions) of dollars worth of natural gas.
If he does, it will be the third such sale in three years –before 2008, state land hadn't been leased for drilling since 2002.
There are a few reasons to ask whether this is a good move. For one thing, fully one-third of our state forest has already been leased for drilling. For another, while only four Marcellus wells are currently active on forest land right now, at least 40 wells are expected to be in production by the end of the year and DCNR officials say that we could see over a thousand in the next decade – all that on land already leased.
We have, in other words, barely begun to see what impact drilling will have on the state forests already leased – leasing even more of it now could be risky indeed.
But don't take my word for it: Rendell's own state forest officials have made their concerns very clear – albeit mostly in private.
Memos and emails obtained by City Paper show that both former DCNR Secretary Michael Diberardinis and Acting Secretary John Quigley have repeatedly cautioned Rendell against leasing additional state forest for Marcellus Shale drilling.
So, in a CP exclusive, we bring you excerpts from said documents in . . . The Marcellus Memos
Background: in 2008, Governor Rendell authorized the first leasing of state forest for gas drilling since 2002. He did so at the suggestion of then-Secretary Michael DiBerardinis, who suggested leasing the land as a way of preventing the state legislature, hungry for revenue, from usurping the authority to do so from DCNR.
Perhaps to Diberardinis' surprise (he has declined comment), Rendell shortly thereafter asked DCNR to perform yet another leasing of state forest for drilling. On March 11, 2009, Rendell's office announced Sec. DiBerardinis' resignation. The following memo (abridged) was written just a week before Mr. DiBerardinis' last day of work.
Memo – March 27, 2009, Sec. DiBerardinis to Gov. Rendell
"Wholesale leasing will damage our State Forest landscape. It would scar the economic, scenic, ecological, and recreational values of the forest – especially the most wild and remote areas of our state in the Pennsylvania Wilds. Your years of work and investments in rural economic revitalization through outdoor experiences in the Pennsylvania Wilds could be erased."
" . . . A rush to drill threatens the certification of our State Forests as sustainably managed. . . Our ability to sustainably manage our State Forests is threatened by unplanned, excessive leasing activity."
". . . Finally, and perhaps most important of all is the environmental legacy you want to leave. I'm deeply concerned that your tireless work [for the environment] will be in jeopardy with large scale leasing."
"One hundred years ago, the land that would become the state's forests was a denuded landscape that was scarred by rampant resource extraction. Our State Forest system – the largest swath of publicly owned land east of the Mississippi River – grew from a visionary effort to reclaim this landscape and restore to Pennsylvania's citizens their natural birthright . . . A rush to drill places the state forest and all its benefits at great risk. . . "
*
Background: In this email, Acting Sec. Quigley says that DCNR is comfortable leasing only 40,000 more acres for Marcellus Shale drilling. As you'll see int he next email, within 2 days, Rendell's staff would ask DCNR to double that acreage.
Email – May 4, 2009, Acting Sec. John Quigley to Gov. Rendell
"It is important to emphasize that we cannot lease 620,000 more acres. We are approaching questionable territory with future lease sales. We are comfortable with a maximum of 40K acres for an additional lease sale . . ."
*
Background: Pennsylvania is one of just a handful of forests in the United States certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as a sustainable forest. Here, Acting Secretary John Quigley warns Rendell that that certification could be in danger if more state forest is leased.
Memo – May 6, 2009, Acting Sec. John Quigley to Scott Roy, Mary Soderberg (Gov. Rendell's office)
"You have asked DCNR to be prepared to offer at least a total of 80,000 acres of state forest lands for Marcellus gas development in 2009. . ."
"I want to be very explicit about the situation that this will place us in. These would likely be the last gas lease sales on State Forest land that we could manage within the context of our sustainable certification for the foreseeable future."
Great to see you getting on board the Marcellus coverage, Isaiah. Just to clear the record, the Inquirer reported on Oct. 2 about the existence of the $180 million budget deal, and AP and the Inquirer ran items on the deal in early January. Also, here's a press release Penn Environment issued on Oct. 14:
Budget Dramatically Shifts Resources From Environmental Protection, Natural Resource Conservation
LENGTH: 969 words
DATELINE: HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 14
Pennsylvania Is Selling Off Natural Resources to Balance the Budget
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cuts and diversions in the budget just adopted by the state have dramatically reduced spending for environmental and natural resource programs in Pennsylvania by $347 million in just one year according to Donald S. Welsh, President & CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.
"The unprecedented 26 percent cut in the Department of Environmental Protection and 18 percent cut in Department of Conservation and Natural Resources budgets raise significant doubts about the capacity of both agencies to fulfill their missions," said Welsh. "Environmental programs for some reason seem to have been singled out for cuts that go way beyond the average 9 percent suffered by other agencies."
The General Fund budget of DEP was cut $58 million, or 26.7 percent, with most of the cuts coming in line items used to fund staff positions. Over 300 positions are at risk of being eliminated as a result of these cuts.
DCNR's General Fund budget was cut $21 million, or 18.5 percent, with again many of the cuts coming in personnel line items. There are about 160 positions at risk of being eliminated at DCNR.
"Of great concern is the diversion of $234 million from the Oil and Gas Fund to the General Fund that was earmarked for improving recreation and access to our State Parks and Forests," said Welsh. "Taking the proceeds from mineral rights sales away from conservation programs erases 55 years of precedent in Pennsylvania."
$174 million was transferred from the Oil and Gas Fund to balance to 2008-09 budget, and $60 million is to be transferred to balance the 2009-10 budget. Another $180 million is set to be used from the Fund to balance the 2010-11 budget, as well.
"Adding to these diversions is the requirement in the budget to lease thousands of acres of State Forest land for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling to raise the money needed for the diversions," said Welsh. "It is a sad day for the Commonwealth when we are selling off our natural resources to balance the budget."
A bill accompanying the budget requires the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to lease as many acres as necessary to yield $60 million in revenue to balance the budget. There is no cap on the acres to be leased or a minimum bid price. This provision of the budget would have been even more destructive had it not been for the leadership of a bi-partisan coalition of House members who vigorously fought to protect state lands from unmitigated extraction.
"These cuts are bad enough on their own, however, they are only the latest in a series of cuts or diversions over the last several years," said Welsh. "Funds for watershed restoration, abandoned mine reclamation, wastewater plant operations, storage tank cleanup, diversions from the Keystone Recreation, Parks and Conservation Fund and more have all gone to balance the budget."
Here is the list of cuts and diversions over the last seven years:
$376 million in Act 339 grants intended to support wastewater plant operations were eliminated to balance the budget;$174 million diverted from the DCNR Oil and Gas Fund to balance the 2008-09 budget;$79 million cut from the DEP and DCNR General Fund budget during 2009-10 fiscal year;$60 million diverted from the DCNR Oil and Gas Fund to balance the 2009-10 budget;$100 million in 2002 from the Underground Storage Tank cleanup insurance fund to balance the budget (although this is slowly being repaid over 10 years);$52.7 million "one-time" diversion from the Keystone Recreation, Parks and Conservation Fund in 2006 to balance the budget;$50 million in 2007 and 2008 from the Environmental Stewardship Fund, which supports mine reclamation and watershed restoration, to fund the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program because there was no agreement on how to fund that program;$50 million in 2007 and 2008 from the Environmental Stewardship Fund to pay debt service on the Growing Greener II bond issue and taking funding away from restoration projects each year for the next 25 years - reflecting a pattern of only environmental programs being required to address their own bond debt service;$15 million from the Recycling Fund in to balance the 2008-09 budget;$18.4 million put into budgetary reserve in 2008-09 from the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; $5and million reduction in Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) farm conservation tax credit program in FY 2009-10.
"Before last week's budget was adopted, we were already below the point of providing sufficient funding for environmental and conservation programs; programs that protect public health, rebuild our communities, and sustain our state's quality of life," said Welsh. "It's time to stop ignoring the need for additional, long-term revenue sources like a natural gas severance tax. Without rebuilding adequate investment, we cannot hope to meet our legal obligations to cleanup our air and water or take care of the natural resources in our public trust."
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council promotes the protection and restoration of the natural and built environments through innovation, collaboration, education and advocacy with the private sector, government, individuals and communities as partners to improve the quality of life for all Pennsylvanians.
The Council was founded in 1970 and serves the entire state through offices in Meadville, Franklin, Wilkes-Barre, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia. For more information visit www.pecpa.org or call 717-230-8044.
Contact:
Donald S. Welsh
President & CEO, PEC
717-230-8044 ext. 16
SOURCE Pennsylvania Environmental CouncilI've lived far, far away form Pennsylvania and people have always told me what a beautiful state it is. That kind of good will will be lost, to our shame.
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by citypaper: Privately, Rendell's State Forest tsars expressed deep concern over leasing state forest for drilling: http://bit.ly/b8tEGd...
This is a great piece. You should put this in print, tho, so lots of people will see it. You've broken something really important here.
To clarify the record: Thanks, Enviro Guy: the Inquirer did indeed report the $180 in October and January. I guess my "re-report" reference (fixed above) came off in a way I didn't mean it to. The "new" news, just to be clear, is two-fold: that Rendell is considering authorizing the lease without waiting for legislative approval to transfer funds from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund; and that "Green Dog" House Democrats dispute the idea (as reported in the October Inky) that there was any such $180 deal in place when they voted in the 2009-2010 budget. Thanks to all for input and clarifications always.
[...] and an about-face by the governor, who – as CP reported in an online series entitled "The Marcellus Memos" and feature story, "Drill Baby Drill," – pointedly ignored the advice of former Department of [...]
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