Corbett lifts drilling moratorium in Pa state forests

Photo by Donald Gilliland/Patriot-News 

All public relations pros know that, if you must announce bad or controversial news, do it at the start of a weekend when the public is least likely to notice.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s media handlers picked not only a Friday afternoon but a Friday before the long Memorial Day weekend to go public with the announcement of the governor’s executive order that opens state parks and forests to additional natural gas leasing.  

The order, which lifts the moratorium imposed by former Gov. Ed Rendell, comes with the restriction that the drilling cannot result in “additional, long-term, surface disturbance.” A press release says that the caveat “will only allow gas to be extracted horizontally through wells located on adjacent private lands or previously leased ares of the state forest.”

Corbett’s proposed budget includes $75 million in new revenue that his administration expects to result from additional leases of state-owned mineral rights. 

 Donald Gilliland reports in the Patriot-News:

Rep. Greg Vitali, a Democrat from Delaware County, is waging an open records battle with the Corbett administration in an attempt to find out how they arrived at the $75 million estimate for revenue likely to be generated by the additional leasing.

Yesterday, the Office of Open Records ruled in Vitali’s favor, directing DCNR to release the relevant documents.

Vitali compared the administration’s reluctance to release records to its Friday-afternoon-before-a-holiday-weekend announcement of the executive order 

“It shows a total lack of interest in transparency and on the contrary, a concerted effort to hide what he’s doing,” said Vitali. “I think it’s appalling.”



Marie Cusick reports in State Impact:

The state’s main gas industry trade group, the Marcellus Shale Coalition praised the plan as a common-sense approach. 

“Safe, tightly-regulated shale development has been, and continues to be, a powerful economic engine for the entire Commonwealth, creating thousands of jobs, especially in our manufacturing sector, and generating huge amounts of tax revenue all while enhancing our environment.” said MSC president Dave Spigelmyer in a statement.

Environmental groups have criticized the plan. PennFuture president Cindy Dunn issued a statement in conjunction with the heads of seven other environmental organizations, calling the plan short-sighted.

“It’s a disappointment,” she says. “We think it’s a big mistake to go forward with this. As with the past leases, this was driven by budgetary needs, not by the sound management of the public trust.”

Read the full story here

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Enviros battle bombardment of Jersey shore seabed


Scientists led by a Rutgers University geologist say the Jersey Shore is a world-class place to study sea level rise, and they plan to bombard a swath of the seabed off Long Beach Island with sound waves for a month this summer to unlock the secrets of what has happened in the past – and what could happen next.”

But Sandy Bauers writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer that “environmentalists, who might normally support research related to climate change, are aghast at the prospect, saying it might harm whales and other marine mammals, as well as New Jersey’s vibrant summer seafood and tourism economy.

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NJ.com political reporter joining campaign strategy firm

Darryl Isherwood



"Just eight months after joining NJ.com as the site’s senior political reporter, Darryl Isherwood has left ship — and journalism altogether. Mr. Isherwood, former editor of The Observer’s sister-site PolitckerNJ.com, has been lured away from the Star-Ledger’s online platform by Mercury Public Affairs LLP, a move confirmed by a source familiar with the hiring," New York Observer reported yesterday.

Michael DuHaime

"Republican strategist Michael DuHaime is a partner at the public strategy firm, which boasts many large clients, and he runs the Westfield-based New Jersey office. The most important and well-known client for whom the political consultant is responsible is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie."  

In both 2009 and 2013, DuHaime was lead strategist for Governor Christie’s gubernatorial election. He was named Strategist of the Year in 2014 by The American Association of Political Consultants.

Read the full story here

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Christie's new Pinelands nominees trigger enviro alarms

Environmentalists opposed to a proposed natural gas pipeline through a portion of the New Jersey Pinelands are up in arms after leaning that Governor Chris Christie yesterday had nominated two candidates to replace members of the Pinelands Commission who had voted to block the pipeline’s construction.

NJ Spotlight reports today:
The nominations of two new public members would, if approved, replace two Pinelands commissioners who voted against a controversial 22-mile natural gas pipeline through the heart of the more than 1-million-acre reserve to allow the former B.L. England Plant in Cape May to convert to that fuel.

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The $90 million project would allow the plant, now owned by Rockland Capital, to remain open, providing needed electricity to a region where power supplies to ensure reliability of the grid are in question, according to proponents.
But critics had a different view.
“This is alarming,’’ said Carleton Montgomery, executive director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, which opposed the project. “The only inference I can draw given the timing and what’s been happening is this is going to help Rockland Capital get their pipeline.’’
 
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John Guth is PADEP's new NW Regional Director

A news release from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection: 

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary E. Christopher Abruzzo announced today that John Guth, Environmental Program Manager for Air Quality, has been named regional director of the agency’s Northwest office effective today, May 19, 2014.

“John’s strong background working with the regulated community, coordinating with local governments, directing and managing staff and serving with the region’s emergency response team has more than prepared him for his new role as regional director,” Abruzzo said. “His vast experience and dedication to the department’s important mission has earned him respect both inside and outside DEP. I am confident that he will continue to serve with diligence.”

Guth began his career at DEP conducting field investigations for the Waste Management Program in 1985, and was promoted to Solid Waste Supervisor in 1993 to supervise employees conducting municipal, residual and hazardous waste inspections, compliance assistance and enforcement. Guth was again promoted in 2002 to the position of Solid Waste Manager. In this role, Guth directed all supervisors in the Solid Waste Program.

In 2004, Guth was promoted to his current position of Environmental Program Manager for Air Quality where he facilitates the implementation of state and federal air quality laws and regulations by issuing permits, plan approvals and compliance enforcement. He has served his entire career with DEP in the Northwest region.

Guth earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental resource management with a minor in soil science from the Pennsylvania State University.

The director of DEP’s Northwest regional office is based in Meadville and manages the Waste Management, Air Quality, Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields, Clean Water, Safe Drinking Water, Waterways and Wetlands and Emergency Response programs for Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Venango and Warren counties.

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Some good news for electricity ratepayers in New Jersey


Even with the diversion of tens of millions of dollars in clean energy funds, the state does not plan to raise a surcharge that pays for it and other utility-related programs, Tom Johnson reports today in NJ Spotlight.

At least that is what the staff of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities told the Office of Legislative Services in a , a bit of good news for electric and gas customers who pays some of the highest energy bills in the nation.
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Even keeping the surcharge (known as the Societal Benefit Charge) level, the staff said it should be sufficient, combined with anticipated carryover, to continue all existing programs to meet market demand.
That, however, presumably assumes that the Christie administration does not redirect any unspent money to help plug a roughly $807 million new hole in the state budget that needs to be closed by the end of June.
Already, the administration is “lapsing’’ another $117.4 million from the clean energy program in unspent dollars from the current fiscal 2014 budget and proposed fiscal 2015 budget. Since 2008, nearly $1 billion in ratepayer funds have been diverted to the general fund by the Corzine and Christie administrations.
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