BREAKING NEWS: Gov. Tom Wolf reinstates moratorium on further gas leasing of public lands
Thursday, January 29, 2015
BREAKING NEWS: Gov. Tom Wolf reinstates moratorium on further gas leasing of public lands
Great news for Pennsylvania's state forests and state parks.
In a ceremony at Benjamin Rush State Park in Philadelphia this morning, Governor Wolf reinstated a moratorium on further gas leasing of public lands. The executive order would supersede an executive order signed by former Gov. Tom Corbett last year that overturned a previous ban on further drilling of public lands.
We are pleased to see Gov. Wolf move quickly to protect our state parks and forests from natural gas drilling. These lands are held in the public trust as provided by Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania constitution, and are places where our families gather and play. The governor has wisely chosen to protect the people of Pennsylvania over the profits of drillers.
With the help of PennFuture members and thousands of Pennsylvanians across the state, we kept the pressure on Harrisburg -- and your voices were heard.
The citizens of the Commonwealth have long valued the special places that our award-winning state parks and state forest represent. Gov. Wolf's action today will help preserve those places as it promotes public health.
Andrew Sharp is PennFuture's director of outreach and is based in Philadelphia.
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