Tom Wolf Earns Conservation Voters of PA Endorsement for Governor

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania (CVPA), which works to turn environmental values into Pennsylvania priorities, announced its endorsement of Tom Wolf for Governor of Pennsylvania.

"It's clearly time for a change in Harrisburg," said Josh McNeil, Executive Director of CVPA. "We need new leadership that will protect our air, water and public health and will recognize both the environmental and economic benefits of clean energy. Tom Wolf will be that kind of leader."

The effects of Marcellus shale gas drilling in much of the state continues to be the foremost challenge confronting Pennsylvania's environment. Water contamination, air pollution, the reopening of state parks and forests to drilling, and the need for the drilling industry to pay its fair share in taxes are among the many issues that are not being effectively addressed by state government today. There are stark differences in the positions of the two gubernatorial candidates.  

"We can create jobs and produce domestic energy through natural gas here in Pennsylvania, but we must manage that process in a way that protects our air, water, and quality of life," said Wolf. "Simply pulling the resource out of the ground and hoping for the best is neither smart nor sustainable."

"We also must impose a responsible, reasonable severance tax to ensure the industry pays its fair share to help Pennsylvania's schools, but also to help the state stay on the cutting edge of the new energy economy," Wolf continued.

Tom Wolf has proposed a five percent severance tax to fund schools and protect the environment and has supported efforts to ensure responsible drilling to protect Pennsylvania's environment. He opposes drilling in state parks and forests, supports greater transparency in the fracking process by requiring drillers to publicly disclose the chemicals they use, and wants to protect the ability of local communities to keep a voice in where drilling occurs within their borders. Wolf has also called for steps to make Pennsylvania a national leader in the development of clean energy sources, with incentives supported by a portion of the severance tax revenues.

"Tom Wolf could have earned this endorsement based on his commitment to moving Pennsylvania toward a cleaner future," said McNeil. "But Governor Corbett's ongoing efforts to undercut environmental protections while giving away our state's resources to the oil and gas companies that fund his campaigns made this an even clearer choice."

Governor Corbett was recently named to the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Political Engagement Fund's "Dirty Dozen in the States" list. Modeled after LCV's trademark federal "Dirty Dozen," the state version highlights 12 of the most anti-environment state-level candidates from around the country who state LCVs (like CVPA) are working to defeat.

As gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale became the dominant environmental issue in Pennsylvania, Governor Corbett repeatedly chose to put the interests of oil and gas companies ahead of the interests of Pennsylvania's citizens.  Standing in the way of a fair severance tax on the industry, he instead chose to slash budgets for the Department of Environmental Protection, open state parks and forests to drillers, and offer massive tax breaks and subsidies to some of the world's largest companies.

Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania is an organization dedicated to passing better environmental laws through public education and by electing candidates committed to a cleaner safer Keystone State. CVPA was founded in 2009 and built on the successful model of the national League of Conservation Voters and its affiliates in 33 states.  

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SOURCE Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania