Gas drilling rig.
Photo - P. Coleman

If you wanted a free hand to drill with impunity for Pennsylvania’s buried oil and gas, you must have had an inner smile when you read about what was in the state’s budget.

DEP: A cut of $56 million or 26.7% in the Department of Environment Protection’s budget. This could lead to the loss of 300 staff positions. This is at a time when the DEP needs MORE qualified employees to ensure that Marcellus shale drilling is done with strict environmental controls.

Oil & Gas Fund: A shift of $143 million from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to the General Fund. This fund was established in 1955 to use leases for the oil and gas operations on state forest lands to be used for conservation, recreation, dams, and flood control.

State Forest Leasing Mandate: Accompanying the budget bill is a separate requirement regarding the Oil and Gas Fund. To achieve future raids on the Oil And Gas Fund of $60 million in 2009-10 and $180 million in 2010-11, the Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation is required to lease sufficient state forest land to produce the target drilling revenues.

Severance Fee: What the legislature failed to do was impose a new severance fee on natural gas production, a fee that is needed to fund proper protection of the environment from harmful drilling practices. This pass on a severance tax is a clear illustration of the power of the oil and gas industry, as explained in an extensive Philadelphia Inquirer report. Pennsylvania is the only gas-producing state without such a severance fee.