‘Striking the right balance’
Natural gas drillers won’t be doing business in Hillman State Park in Burgettstown or Ryerson Station State Park in Greene County. Gov. Tom Wolf Wednesday reinstated a moratorium on new oil and gas leases in state parks and forests.
The drilling ban on public lands was enacted by former Gov. Ed Rendell in 2010, but was quashed when former Gov. Tom Corbett took office. Wolf said during an event at Benjamin Rush State Park that his executive order was about “striking the right balance” between the economic benefits of natural gas development and the environmental viability of parks and forests.
“Our state parks and forests are unique assets that should be preserved, protected and utilized by our residents for recreational purposes,” he said.
Wolf said state parks host 38 million visitors annually, support more than 13,000 jobs and generate $1.2 billion in state revenue. But representatives of the natural gas industry criticized Wolf for a decision they say will jeopardize millions of dollars that local governments could have received in royalties and impact fees.
“Unfortunately, this action – made without any industry input – to ban the safe and tightly regulated development of natural gas from beneath taxpayer-owned lands flies in the face of common sense,” Dave Spigelmyer, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said in a news release.
“Nonsurface taxpayer-owned energy development – through utilizing advanced horizontal drilling technologies that ensure no surface impacts – is not only an enormous current and potential source of revenue for the commonwealth at a time when revenues are sorely needed, but expanded natural gas production and use is enhancing air quality and boosting our region’s economy.”
MSC stated that of the 673,000 acres of leased state forests in Pennsylvania, “a mere 2 percent has been utilized at the surface” for shale drilling.
Environmental groups applauded Wolf’s decision. The Sierra Club, which has a Pittsburgh chapter, called the decision a “huge win” for public lands in Pennsylvania.
“Today’s decision will inspire activists nationwide to double down on fighting dirty fuels and promoting a new American prosperity through clean energy,” Michael Brune, executive director, said in a news release.
The Center for Coalfield Justice in Washington called it an “important” decision to ensure the protection of public natural resources.
“We also encourage the governor to use all of his authority to restore Duke Lake and protect Ryerson Station State Park (in Greene County) from all future fossil fuel extraction,” said Director Patrick Grenter. “The moratorium is an important first step in protecting human health and the environment in Pennsylvania for current and future generations.”
Duke Lake at Ryerson Park was damaged by longwall mining at Bailey Mine, operated by Consol Energy, and is in the process of being restored under an agreement between Consol and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
As part of the agreement, Consol paid $36 million to replace the dam and gave DCNR eight parcels of land that it owned adjacent to the park.
Grenter said there are natural gas wells “all around the park” at Ryerson. But Terri Davin, of the Greene County Watershed Alliance, said there is no drilling activity in the park itself.
Consol was permitted to horizontally drill for natural gas beneath the park from well pads outside of the park boundaries, but Consol spokeswoman Kate O’Donovan said the company has never done so.
O’Donovan said, “While we are still working to understand the full implications of the executive order, we are hopeful that this will not derail what is an important public-private partnership with DCNR to restore Duke Lake and expand the footprint of Ryerson Station State Park.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.