November 3, 2010

Dear Friends,

Many of you have sent me letters and e-mails expressing your deep frustration and even outrage with Pennsylvania’s inability to pass a Natural Gas severance Tax.

Your feelings are entirely justified. You are absolutely correct that the Pennsylvania Senate as a whole did not keep its promise to pass a natural gas severance tax by October 1 of this year. And there is no question that the Commonwealth needs the revenues from a severance tax to restore its depleted environmental programs, to aid communities severely impacted by the drilling and transportation of natural gas, and to bolster its general fund.

Every other major natural gas-producing state charges companies for the privilege to remove its natural gas; It makes sense to ask, Why not Pennsylvania?

Back in July 2009 I drafted and introduced Senate Bill 997, a natural gas severance tax bill that would deposit 22 percent of tax revenues into the Environmental Stewardship Fund. That was 16 months ago, and yet the Pennsylvania Senate has failed to act on it or any natural gas severance tax bill for that matter.

I have urged my colleagues in the Senate to return to Harrisburg in order to vote on a natural gas severance tax, and I can be there at a moment’s notice.

It is particularly unfortunate because the Senate’s failure to enact a tax on the Marcellus Shale casts a shadow on a legislative session that otherwise included bright spots in terms of environmental legislation. In fact, the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action just released an Environmental Scorecard that lists major environmental votes and rates the performance of Pennsylvania state senators and representatives.

As you will see, senators’ scores are based on eight key environmental votes, on their position on an environmental bill that did not make it to the floor for a vote, and on their work in support of regulations beneficial to our natural resources.

I am proud to say that I received an environmental rating of 110 percent due to the following votes:

• Yes on House Bill 708, which creates manufacturer and retailer mandates regarding the proper recycling of electronic appliances including computers and televisions.

• Yes on Senate Bill 297, which imposes new reporting regulations on the drilling of Marcellus Shale natural gas.

• Yes on House Bill 961, which extends Pennsylvania’s Recycling Fund program another eight years.

• Yes on the confirmation of John Quigley as Secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

• Yes on the confirmation of John Hanger as Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection

• No on Senate Bill 490, which diverts to the general fund Oil and Gas Lease Funds specifically meant for public conservation purposes.

• No on Senate Bill 850, which proposed severe budgetary cuts to the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

• No on an amendment to House Bill 1416 that cut funds for various environmental programs.

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My score of 110 also reflects my support for regulations creating 150-foot buffers around Exceptional Value and High Quality Streams and my support for Senate Bill 777, the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act, the bill that unfortunately never came up for a formal vote.

These bills and regulations represent the strides we took this session to preserve and protect our Commonwealth’s natural resources.

But you know and I know that significant environmental issues lie ahead – perhaps none more so than Pennsylvania’s quickly expanding Marcellus Shale natural gas industry.

Again, I stand ready to return to Harrisburg at a moment’s notice to vote for a natural gas severance tax. Should that not occur this fall, I will begin the 2011 session by reintroducing and fighting for the passage of a natural gas severance tax that allows for a significant and real reinvestment in our environment.

Respectfully, Andy Dinniman State Senator - 19th District