Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) signed an executive order reinstating a moratorium on new drilling leases on state forests and parks.
Wolf’s action brought an end to efforts by former Gov. Tom Corbett to expand natural gas drilling and production from Marcellus shale beneath Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests. The restored moratorium superseded an order Corbett signed in May 2014.
The moratorium initially started with a 2010 executive order from former Gov. Ed Rendell. Wolf signed his executive order reinstating the moratorium during a Jan. 29 event in Benjamin Rush state park in northeast Philadelphia.
"Natural gas development is vital to Pennsylvania’s economy, but so is the economic and environmental viability of our parks and forests," Wolf said. "This is about striking the right balance. Our state parks and forests are unique assets that should be preserved, protected, and utilized by our residents…. Our parks host 38 million visitors annually, support over 13,000 jobs, and provide $1.2 billion to the state’s economy."
Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources had decided that additional leasing would jeopardize DCNR’s ability to sustain the commonwealth’s forest certification, he said.
Effective upon signing of Wolf’s executive order, DCNR was directed that no state park and state forest land owned or managed by DCNR was to be leased for oil and gas development.
Earlier in January, a state court decision had opened the door for the state to allow expanded drilling in forests and parks. The state had taken no action on leases since a 2010 deal with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to drill beneath 33,000 acres of state forest land.
The Marcellus Shale Coalition noted the moratorium will keep the state from collecting royalities on gas that would have been produced.
"This deeply misguided and purely political action to unnecessarily ban the safe and tightly regulated development of natural gas from beneath taxpayer-owned lands flies in the face of common sense," said Dave Spigelmyer, Marcellus Shale Coalition president.
DCNR statistics said private gas and oil wells in state forests added $582 million to Pennsylvania’s budgets during 2008-12, more than tripling such revenue from the previous 60 years.
Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association Pres. Louis D. D’Amico called Wolf’s moratorium on new leases unfortunate.
"It eliminates land with proven energy reserves from potential natural gas development that would not be impacted in any way during the process of drilling and completing a well," D’Amico said.
The decision will eliminate a financial windfall for the commonwealth that has returned more than $700 million in 7 years, D’Amico said, noting that Pennsylvania is looking for increased revenue sources.
"Finally, the irony of this administration preventing drilling for a resource that it is seeking to tax cannot be overlooked," he said.
