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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
06/03/2024 02:40 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20130&cosponId=14348
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House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: March 19, 2014 02:55 PM
From: Representative Rick Mirabito
To: All House members
Subject: Legislation Empowering Citizens to Protect Public Lands
 

In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation to give citizens much greater input into significant decisions affecting State Forest lands in Pennsylvania and to require much greater transparency and accountability on the part of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the state agency which makes these decisions.
Pennsylvania’s State Forests are public lands, and DCNR is required by law to manage our State Forest lands as a trustee for the benefit of all Pennsylvanians, including generations yet to come. Recent developments involving the Loyalsock State Forest in Lycoming County have shown that DCNR currently is not required to inform or engage the public in a meaningful way when it makes significant and far-reaching decisions regarding the management of these public lands.
This legislation will amend the Conservation and Natural Resources Act to require DCNR to provide notice and seek public input before authorizing any major unconventional gas development project on State Forest lands in Pennsylvania.
The bill does not cover shallow gas or oil wells.
Citizens have a right and a responsibility to know what developments are being proposed on public lands for their input to be meaningful. Specifically, the bill will require:
  1. a public comment period;
  2. at least one public hearing or meeting;
  3. access for the public during the comment period to proposed development plans; and
  4. a requirement that DCNR share with the public during the comment period the agency’s analysis of the potential impacts of the proposed unconventional gas development on ecological, wildlife, recreational, cultural and aesthetic resources.
The development of the lands already leased for gas development will have significant short-term and long-term impacts. This legislation does not diminish DCNR’s authority to make decisions regarding natural gas development on State Forest land. The legislation, however, does allow the public to obtain information and an opportunity to comment on how industry leases will be developed to ensure that industry and the state avoid, diminish or mitigate adverse impacts.


Introduced as HB2318