By SANDY LONG
PENNSYLVANIA - Pennsylvania's recently finalized $28 billion General Fund budget extends cuts made last year to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) while sustaining some conservation programs and calling for the establishment of a natural gas severance tax.
Environmental organizations are calling the outcome a "mixed bag."
Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture), an organization that advances policies to protect and improve the state's environment and economy, thanked legislators for preserving funding for local conservation and restoration projects, but remained concerned over cuts to DEP and DCNR.
"Pennsylvania has significant environmental challenges, including cleaning up our rivers and streams, and protecting our natural resources from gas drilling damage," said PennFuture president and CEO Jan Jarrett. "Our state parks and forests are the foundation of our tourism industry and provide affordable recreation for many families in these difficult economic times. Both these agencies will be struggling to deliver the services Pennsylvanians expect from them with the resources they will have.
"A week ago we were looking at budget proposals that would have wiped out the Growing Greener; the Keystone Recreation, Parks and Conservation Fund; and a fund that cleans up damage from coal mining, and used the money in those funds to balance the budget," said Jarrett. "Fortunately, legislators saw the great value in those programs for local communities and left them intact."
DEP and DCNR did not fare as well.
According to the PA Environment Digest, FY 2010-11 General Fund appropriations to DEP were cut $71.9 million below FY 2008-09 levels and $30.9 million below 08-09 levels for DCNR. The new budget includes an additional 9.2 percent cut in the DEP and an additional 11 percent cut in the DCNR (specifically an additional cut of 7.3 percent in state parks). Earlier FY 2009-10 budget cuts required DEP and DCNR to furlough or eliminate 333 full-time positions and DCNR had to eliminate or reduce hours for 1,131 seasonal workers.
Last week, serious concerns were expressed among state environmental organizations over the "dire situation" created by the proposed cuts. Ellen Ferretti of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), an organization that seeks collaborative solutions to environmental protection and restoration through partnerships that recognize the links between the environment, the economy and quality of life, noted that PEC had joined with The Nature Conservancy, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the PA Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) in a statement sent to Governor Rendell and PA legislators.
In part, the statement read: "As the Commonwealth collectively stares down another budget deadline, environmental programs once again find themselves as primary targets for revenue diversion to balance the General Fund budget."
The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association (PALTA) had also reached out on the issue. "If this proposal moves forward, there will be no state money for community parks, open space protection, farmland preservation, community-centered environmental restoration and other conservation efforts," asserted PALTA executive director Andy Loza. "Instead of raiding environmental funding, the General Assembly should raise additional funds by levying a severance tax on natural gas drilling."
That's one outcome that will come to pass, as the budget also contains a promise to develop a severance tax on natural gas extraction by October 1 to be effective January 1, 2011. "We look forward to working with members of the General Assembly to craft a fair tax on gas drilling that will help the environment and communities dealing with the impacts of drilling," said Jarrett. "And we fully intend to hold them to this promise."
Gov. Rendell said he would set up a special commission over the summer to start work on the details of the tax.
PEC, PALTA and other groups are continuing to contact legislators and the Governor's office and encouraging others to do so. "The resources can't speak for themselves-it's up to us to do so," said Ferretti.
Loza also urged Pennsylvania residents to impress upon legislators the importance of severance tax revenue to funding the Growing Greener program and its impact on water cleanup, open space and farmland protection and trail and park projects.
Contact information for state representatives and senators is available at www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm. The Governor's office can be reached at www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=2998&mode=2. Ongoing updates on the budget are available at paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com .