Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission: out of balance?
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Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley: will lead commission. -
Gov. Tom Corbett: appointed 30-member Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission.
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HARRISBURG -- A new commission stacked with energy executives and campaign contributors -- including one with a history of environmental violations -- has been tasked to ensure land and water are protected as they help grow the gas drilling industry in Pennsylvania.
Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday created the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, and assigned its 30 members to figure out how to balance job creation with environmental protection.
If the composition of the commission is any indication, the scales will tip toward job creation. The group includes 13 people with ties to the gas industry and only four environmentalists. The others are state and local government officials and a geologist.
Thirteen of the members contributed a total of $557,000 to Mr. Corbett's political campaigns since 2008; 12 have ties with companies whose executives or political action committees contributed another $562,000; one is the son of a $300,000 contributor. All together that amounted to just over $1.4 million.
PG graphic"No one should be surprised by the composition of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission," said state Rep. Camille "Bud" George, D-Clearfield. "Yes, there are members appointed who will stand tall for responsible environmental protections. However, I think the panel is overwhelmingly tilted in favor of the industry and for the governor who appointed them."
One member -- Acting Secretary of Community and Economic Development C. Alan Walker -- has a track record of environmental problems at mines operated by three of his companies in Clearfield and Centre counties.
A decade ago, he notified the state that his companies were selling off assets and could no longer afford treat polluted water flowing from 15 inactive mines into streams that feed the Susquehanna River.
The Department of Environmental Protection responded by seeking -- and winning -- a court injunction requiring treatment to continue at the mines.
A year later, Mr. Walker signed a consent decree requiring him to fund a multimillion-dollar trust to ensure proper cleanup of acid drainage from those mines, which already had been the subject of numerous DEP compliance orders and violation orders
First Published March 13, 2011 12:00 am
