September 27, 2010

Dear Friend,

As we enter the second week of the fall legislative session, I’d like to update you on the status of approving a natural gas severance tax for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

At this point, it does not look like the legislature is going to meet the October 1 tax-passage deadline approved by legislative leaders and the governor in July’s budget agreement, and that is both frustrating and disappointing to me. However, I continue to remind my fellow legislators of our obligation to approve a severance tax this fall and to approve one that funds Pennsylvania’s Environmental Stewardship Fund, its hazardous sites cleanup fund, its conservation district fund, and the local townships, cities and boroughs most affected by the drilling and the pipelines that transport natural gas.

I remind my colleagues that while the Marcellus Shale represents a wonderful opportunity for Pennsylvania – we have a cleaner-burning energy source right here within our borders – we must extract it without harming our health and environment.

Like all revenue bills, the severance tax bills currently under consideration are introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. House members are discussing a host of issues including the rate at which to tax the natural gas, whether or not the tax rate should be uniform over the life of the natural gas well, and how the severance tax revenues should be divided.

I hope that the members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Senate remember that the Marcellus Shale will provide natural gas for fifty years if not more – that what the General Assembly approves today will be the basis of our public policy for many, many decades to come.

I continue to support a natural gas severance tax bill that provides the Commonwealth the revenue it needs to fully protect the environment through initiatives such as the Environmental Stewardship Fund, which since 2002 has provided millions of dollars for open space and watershed protection, farmland preservation, reclamation of abandoned mines, and the improvement of commonwealth and community parks.

I encourage you to e-mail or write to House and Senate members and urge them to approve a natural gas severance tax that will provide a strong source of revenue for the Environmental Stewardship Fund and other environmental initiatives well into the 21st century.

Sincerely, Andy Dinniman State Senator - 19th District