Womp womp:
http://www.phillymag.com/...
A Pennsylvania court upheld the rights of municipalities to regulate drilling, delivering a setback to Tom Corbett, the Republican legislature and the drilling industry. In December, a state court ruled that a 2012 law unconstitutionally restricted towns from regulating where oil and gas facilities can be located.
The state won on some points. For example, the court “confirmed that state regulators can be required to notify public water suppliers but not private water well owners of drilling-related spills.” Also, it upheld the limits on what doctors can tell the public about proprietary chemicals used in the extraction process. Yay?
The original lawsuit stems from the Public Utility Commission's threat to withhold state drilling impact funds from municipalities that regulate the location of oil and gas facilities. When several towns sued the state, the PUC had a hearing scheduled to review their local drilling ordinances. - Philly Magazine, 7/18/14
http://www.poconorecord.com/...
The Commonwealth Court decision threw out the Public Utility Commission's newly authorized power to withhold drilling fee revenue from municipalities whose zoning it deems to illegally restrict drilling activity.
The decision is another blow to an effort by Gov. Tom Corbett and the Republican-controlled Legislature to respond to the drilling industry's complaints about municipal zoning. It follows a state Supreme Court ruling in December that said the law could not strip local zoning authority over drilling activity, such as the placement of rigs, pipelines, waste pits and compressor stations.
John M. Smith, a Pittsburgh-area lawyer who helped represent the seven municipalities that sued, said they were pleased that the court "once again protected the rights of local governments and Pennsylvania citizens."
The Commonwealth Court ruling rejected three other challenges in the lawsuit to elements of the sprawling law.
Those three victories led Corbett's office to say the opinion "speaks volumes to the constitutionality of state regulation of oil and gas activities." A spokesman would only say that the office is evaluating the impact of the ruling on the intended role of the utility commission.
The court left intact limits on what doctors may reveal about the proprietary contents of hydraulic fracturing solutions.
Still, Smith said that while the court did not find the "medical gag rule" to be unconstitutional, the court interpreted the law to allow certain disclosures that alleviated much of the plaintiffs' concerns over the secrecy. Those disclosures include to patients who suffer chemical exposures from drilling operations, to other treating physicians and in medical records, Smith said.
The court also refused to require the state to notify people who rely on private water sources of the potential for drilling contamination and it rejected the argument that the law authorized illegal private eminent domain for natural gas pipelines and storage. - Pocono Record, 7/18/14
Because of this ruling and facing lousy poll numbers, Corbett is backing off:
http://powersource.post-gazette.com/...
The Corbett administration will not sign any new natural gas leases under state parks and forests until at least this fall under an agreement with an environmental group that was submitted in court on Thursday.
The environmental group's attorney, John Childe, said that the budget signed by Mr. Corbett last week has made the state’s parks and forests agency "almost entirely dependent" on a special account that is funded by oil and gas lease payments and royalties from drilling on state lands, known as the Oil and Gas Lease Fund. The fund was created in 1955 to be used only for conservation, recreation and flood control projects at the direction of DCNR, but it has been used for other purposes in recent years since its balance swelled from Marcellus Shale drilling.
"Should the court have enjoined the use of the oil and gas lease funds, DCNR would be left without the ability to operate for the next year and our parks and forests would have had to close down," Mr. Childe said in a statement. "PEDF is bringing their case to support DCNR's ability to protect our parks and forests, not to shut them down."
The state budget anticipates that DCNR will sign enough new natural gas leases under state public lands to bring in $95 million for the general fund over the next fiscal year. An executive order limits those leases to places drillers can reach from current well pads or adjacent properties without creating additional long-term disturbances to the surface of the public lands. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/18/14
Not only does this suck for Corbett, he's also scrambling to get members of his own party in line:
http://www.pennlive.com/...
Gov. Tom Corbett said Friday he plans to speak soon with House and Senate leadership about his repeated calls for pension reform, but he's staying mum about whether he plans to call a special session to compel legislators to return to Harrisburg and take up the issue.
"I have not made up my mind on that," he said on a stop at a Hummelstown coffee shop where he continued his stump for pension reform.
Corbett encouraged school officials and business owners to take their concerns about pension-related costs to their legislators; he already has.
The governor said he has spoken with legislators over the past week, but he hasn't talked with any members of leadership since he vetoed some state budget items and urged lawmakers to return from session break and vote on pension reform. He declined to say Friday when he'll speak with leaders. - The Patriot-News, 7/18/14
By the way, Tom Wolf (D. PA) and his supporters have been hitting Corbett on his failed leadership:
http://lancasteronline.com/...
Gov. Tom Corbett is traveling around the state spreading a message — the state pension system is unsustainable.
His challenger in the upcoming election, York businessman Tom Wolf, is delivering the same news everywhere he travels.
But that’s where the similarities end.
Corbett wants legislators to bring relief to taxpayers in the form of structural changes to the state’s two public pension systems. Wolf wants legislators to bring relief to taxpayers in the form of a severance tax on the natural gas industry.
The debate over which is the better political strategy to tackle the $50 billion problem came to Lancaster city Friday as the Campaign for a Fresh Start rolled into Penn Square to rally support for Wolf.
Katie McGinty, who competed with Wolf in the primary and is now chairwoman of the political action committee, said Corbett is on a “magical misleading tour” that attempts to conceal his failed record from voters by linking pension reform legislation as a way to lower property taxes.
“The truth is that Tom Corbett’s cuts to education have forced schools throughout Pennsylvania to raise property taxes while 20,000 educators have been laid off and valuable programs have been eliminated,” McGinty said to a small group gathered outside Central Market.
Flanked by state Rep. Mike Sturla and Mayor Rick Gray, McGinty said Corbett has allowed schools and families to struggle while refusing to institute a severance tax that would provide funding for education.
“If Tom Corbett really wants to stand up for taxpayers, he’s got to stand up against his buddies in the shale companies,” she said. “He pushes policies that line the pockets of people on Wall Street at the expense of those on Main Street.” - Lancaster Online, 7/18/14
And Wolf's campaign has been bashing him on this:
http://www.philly.com/...
So, a heckler interrupts a Gov. Corbett press conference in the Lehigh Valley Thursday with an attack on his proposal to cut pension benefits for future state and school employees - disguised as a question.
Corbett gives an answer and then, as the man continues to berate him, thanks the audience for coming and ends the event.
Does this incident illustrate a) Corbett’s cowardice and unpopularity or b) the governor’s leadership?
A tracker from the Campaign for a Fresh Start, the super PAC backing Democrat Tom Wolf, filmed the exchange and the campaign circulated it widely, saying it showed that Corbett can’t defend earlier cuts to state education spending and his resistance to taxing Marcellus sale gas exploration.
"Tom Corbett cannot defend his billion dollar cuts to education or his failure to enact a reasonable severance tax that will help fund our schools. His actions have caused property tax increases throughout Pennsylvania,” said Mike Mikus, a spokesman for Fresh Start. And Corbett has “admitted [the pension plan] will do nothing to lower property taxes for Pennsylvanians and produce no immediate savings.” - Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/18/14
Corbett's running scared and looking like a guaranteed Dead Man Walking but we can't afford to take anything for granted. Click here to donate and get involved with Wolf's campaign, State Senator Mike Stack's (D. PA), Lt. Governor campaign and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party so we can take back the State Senate:
http://www.wolfforpa.com/
http://www.stackforpa.com/
http://www.padems.com/