PA’s energy debate spills into budget hearing with head of conservation, natural resources agency

(The Center Square) – The debate over Pennsylvania’s reliance on oil and gas as energy resources took center stage as lawmakers heard testimony recently from the head of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The use of Pennsylvania’s state parks and other green spaces as drilling sites was discussed throughout a lengthy budget hearing between the state Senate Appropriations Committee and DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn.

Gov. Tom Wolf banned the drilling of gas and oil in state parks in 2015, but grandfathered leases – touted by proponents as a revenue generator – continue. About 250,000 acres of state-run green space had been leased out to mine the resources before Wolf’s order.

“We feel it’s good to hold the moratorium at this time,” Dunn said as she expressed support of Wolf’s position on the issue.

But several lawmakers pushed back against Wolf and his administration at the hearing, particularly as state officials touted increasing reliance on green resources.

After hearing Dunn discuss an effort within her agency to use more electric vehicles and install solar panels, state Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, called for a comprehensive discussion of the technologies and the role oil and gas play in creating the materials used for the equipment.

“I think we’re a little dishonest with the public when we talk about clean energy,” Pittman said. “Don’t lead the public to think they just magically appear, because they don’t.”

But there was support within the committee for continuing Wolf’s 6-year-old ban on new drilling leases.

“I continue to be an opponent of (drilling),” state Sen. Steven Santarsiero, D-Bucks, said. “We have a responsibility under our state constitution to preserve our natural resources.”

Dunn said she was supportive of Wolf’s $25 million proposed allocation for the DCNR in the upcoming 2021-22 budget. As anticipated, she confirmed use of the parks and green spaces under the department’s purview skyrocketed as Pennsylvanians sought safe, viable opportunities to leave home amid COVID-19.

“We were in a position where we were one of the only attractions open,” Dunn said. “People voted with their sneakers and their boots almost instantaneously. The pandemic created the need for close-to-home recreation.”

With fiscal challenges likely for years to come – due, in part, to the pandemic – Dunn also was asked by the committee to weigh in on the state’s long-standing policy of not charging admission into state-run parks and other green spaces.

As she sees it, Dunn said she believes the free-for-all policy should continue.

“We feel it would limit access,” Dunn said of charging admission. “(Parks and green spaces) are designed to serve all citizens. They were built that way with it in mind.”

Amid the challenges of the past year, state Sen. Patrick Browne, R-Lehigh, said he viewed the DCNR’s role in the broader spectrum of state government as an important one.

“The assets that you manage hold tremendous value,” Browne said to Dunn. “You are a part of the overall piece of the pie.”

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