Seeing the Bids, Raising the Stakes

The budget deal finally hammered out in October required Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to raise $60 million for the general fund by leasing land for gas drilling. This week DCNR held an auction to comply with the requirement, raising $128.4 million - more than twice the amount the department was required to contribute to the general fund.

The
extra money should stay with DCNR so the department can begin to address a huge backlog of conservation and maintenance projects in state parks and state forests. DCNR should also use this money to protect our state parks from gas drilling by buying the mineral rights
at the parks - the state doesn't own the mineral rights under 85 percent of parkland. Many state parks are facing the potential for significant drilling.

A dagger at the heart of a western treasure
PennFuture has learned that at a major gas company is interested in drilling in a substantial portion of beloved Ohiopyle State Park in Fayette County. Ohiopyle State Park is a leading recreational destination for hikers, bikers riding the Great Allegheny Passage, whitewater paddlers and many, many others.

We know the drill
PennFuture
and other organizations are calling for a moratorium on any further deep gas drilling on Pennsylvania's public lands until there can be a comprehensive study on the impacts of the drilling that has already been approved. This year, with the Commonwealth facing another dire
budget, state legislators and the administration will be tempted to view our public lands as a cash cow for state government.
PennFuture believes that the future and fundamental integrity of Pennsylvania's public lands and the long-tradition of science-based management for multiple uses are now at stake.

Answer the call to act at the Marcellus Muster
On Saturday, January 30, PennFuture is hosting the Marcellus Muster
at Penn State University. This summit will include presentations by experts and legislative leaders, and discussion of how we can build a strong and effective citizens' campaign to ensure gas drillers pay their way, and protect our forests and water. Click here for registration and other information on the Muster.

The governor draws a line in the sand
No one attending a clean energy breakfast in Media came away confused about Governor Rendell's position on the Clean Energy and Green Jobs legislation (House Bill 80 and Senate Bill 92). The governor announced that he was "going to war" to get the bills passed.

"We have to draw a line in the sand and say, 'This is something we believe in," he said."It's time for us to demand that our representation here
stands up and says, 'This is important to us and we're not budging.
We're not budging until this is passed.'"

Also speaking at the breakfast was Rep. Greg Vitali (R-Delaware), the prime sponsor of the legislation in the House; Rep. Chris Ross (R-Chester), a strong supporter and cosponsor of the bill; Rep. Brian Lentz (D-Delaware) and Senator Daylin Leach (D-Delaware and Montgomery). Senator Leach is supporting the Senate version of the bill sponsored by Senator Edwin Erickson (R-Delaware).

This
legislation would strengthen Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act by increasing the requirement for renewable energy in our electricity mix. More than 150 people attended the breakfast, most of them from large and small renewable energy
companies. It was the first of six breakfasts that PennFuture is holding around the state in support of passage of the legislation.

Fixing a broken system
This week, Allegheny County unveiled the plan
developed by the Environmental Air Quality Task Force to fix the broken permitting and enforcement system at the Air Quality Program, part of the County Board of Health. The program lacks appropriate technology, and workers lack training, or even safe and clean working conditions.
The task force, made up of members from environmental groups, business, government and academia, worked over 18 months to achieve consensus on creating an Air Quality Program that protects the public health, improves regional air quality, and increases services to stakeholders.

The
plan the group presented is comprehensive and challenging, but vital to creating a fair and transparent program on air quality. PennFuture's Vice President Heather Sage,
who serves as chair of one of the task force's subcommittee's said, "I'm proud that this report gives the Allegheny County Health Department a clear way forward to finally putting our "smoky city" reputation behind us. I know that implementing this report will not be easy, and the time to take action is short. But making these long
overdue changes will not only clean up our air, they will also improve our economy."

PennFuture intends to continue its work as a watchdog to make sure all the changes recommended by the task force are implemented.

Ready to go in 2010
The Choose Clean Water Coalition
held its first annual conference this week in Washington. First up: working to address long-standing water quality problems in our local rivers and streams that flow to the Chesapeake Bay. This coalition of over 100 organizations
throughout the Bay region had much to celebrate. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Lisa Jackson, chose to announce new policies to reduce major pollution from agriculture and contaminated stormwater at the conference.

The protection of our most vital resource - water - will be front and center for the Obama Administration. We hope that our decision-makers in Pennsylvania feel the same way. After all, clean water starts here in Pennsylvania.

Podcast of the Week: Is that a backfire we hear?
Early
in 2009, Foundation Mining petitioned the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to downgrade the rating of South Fork Tenmile Creek (SFTM) in Greene County, which would allow the company to dump dirty water into the creek with little or no treatment.

But that plan backfired
on the company - big time, as former VP Cheney would say. After local conservationists and PennFuture got involved and documented the true value of the creek, DEP actually upgraded many parts of the creek, which means the company now has to take even more action to protect the water.

This week's podcast,
recorded in part at a celebration of DEP's decision, features many of the people who worked so hard to get this great result. First, PennFuture's western Pennsylvania outreach coordinator, Dr. Joylette Portlock, speaks with Krissy Kasserman from Mountain Watershed Association; Terri Davin from Center for Coalfield Justice; PennFuture's Staff Attorney Brian Glass, who was lead counsel on the issue; and Attilia (Tillie) Shumaker from Wheeling Creek Watershed Conservancy. In the second part of the podcast, you'll hear Joylette's discussion with the experts on the case, Dr. Steve Kunz from Schmid and Company and Dr. Ben Stout.

PennFuture
works every day to make a difference for Pennsylvania's environment and economy. Isn't it time to join us and make a difference yourself? Go to our secure website to join PennFuture, and make sure you sign up for our publications. And remember, you can make sure you don't miss any podcasts by subscribing to them through iTunes.

PennFuture's Session Daze is designed to be a brief, informative and occasionally humorous look at public policy in Pennsylvania. Please visit our website for more information about PennFuture.