Smith says 'common sense' should prevail in natural gas play

TOWANDA - Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell wasn't the only one talking about the impact of the natural gas industry Tuesday in Towanda.

At the Bradford County Courthouse, Bradford County Commissioner Chairman Mark Smith and PennDOT District Executive Sandra Tosca spoke prior to the governor's speech.

Rendell was in Towanda to outline the state's commitment to enacting a severance tax on natural gas extraction, saying such a levy should give a fair share to communities where drilling is taking place.

Smith, who thanked Rendell "for coming to our beautiful county," said the governor was there "in regards to one of the most important issues facing our county and our Commonwealth - the development of the Marcellus Shale and the proposed severance tax on natural gas.

"Over the last year I have had the pleasure of working closely with two neighboring county commissioners, Erick Coolidge (Tioga County) and Bob Getz (Sullivan County)," he continued. "Together we encouraged the Governor's Office to come to the Northern Tier and see the impacts of the industry, the positive and the negative. His office complied and sent the governor's special assistant, Lance Simmens, to learn about how natural gas development was affecting our region.

"Now the governor is here, we have his ear, his interest and, we hope, his compassion for local needs," he continued. "I want to take this opportunity to stress, not only the importance of a severance tax for the state, but more importantly, for a shared distribution of that revenue to the areas affected by natural gas development. It is important to our county, our boroughs, townships and schools. It is important to our friends and neighbors throughout the state.

"The development of the Marcellus Shale is on course to be the most prolific development that our county and state has ever seen," Smith said. "It is redefining our government services, our economy, our people and our countryside."

Rural Pennsylvania, he said, is becoming part of a new level of economic growth.

"Nevertheless, the changing economy and influx of money is not adequately funding our local governments or agencies to meet the new challenges we face," he said.

"The economic growth is unquestionable," he continued. "However, we must also let common sense and lessons learned in other natural gas plays prevail. With increased economic development and growth come increased impacts on social, economic, environmental, government and transportation infrastructures.

"In this time of immense growth and economic possibility, those working to develop and maintain our economy, communities and environment, such as the Central Bradford Progress Authority, Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission, Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau, our heritage regions and our conservation districts, have not received more resources from the state to deal with increased activity and opportunity, they have received less," he said.

Smith noted that emergency service needs are on the rise.

"Across Bradford County, volunteer fire companies are facing more frequent calls and more complex situations. The volume of calls at our 911 center is on track to increase, this year alone, by well over 30 percent," he said. "Law enforcement, courts and correctional facilities are experiencing the same trends seen in other natural gas developments.

"In some ways we are watching prosperity unfold, but in other ways we are witnessing a new level of poverty take root," he said. "Last year the state senate held a hearing regarding housing and the influx of people into the county. They learned of increasing problems of homelessness, skyrocketing rents, and the overall shortage of housing. Still, a year later, these problems are worsening and they continue unabated. Local agencies have no recourse but to turn people away because they don't have the resources to help.

"We have passionate people in our communities. They are ready and willing to work towards an ever-strengthening economy, better housing, better prepared emergency services, better education and better services to those in need. They need the resources to deal with these issues; they need the resources to make a difference."

"Today the governor is here, he is taking note of this rural county and others like it," he continued. "Often rural areas feel left out in Pennsylvania government. This is an opportunity to be heard and to be involved, to ensure that everyone in Harrisburg understands what is at stake, that a significant local share of any proposed severance tax is essential, not only to the development of our communities, but to maintain our quality of life."

Smith noted that there are some politicians "railing against a severance tax."

"They claim that we don't need it or even that it is too little too soon," he said. "The problem is, the impacts are happening now, they were happening last year, even the year before that. They are happening here in Bradford County and in other regions of the state, and it continues at an increasingly rapid pace.

"Some argue the state corporate income tax is so high in Pennsylvania that we shouldn't impose a severance tax," he continued. "However, according to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, 70 percent of the natural gas companies drilling Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania are not subject to the corporate income tax. That 70 percent includes some of the largest natural gas companies operating here in this county.

"The concerns I have outlined today are not meant to suggest that the industry hasn't created positive impacts and prosperity; it certainly has," he said. "But, let us not get caught up thinking that prosperity and rapid growth come without any costs of their own.

"Throughout their deliberations regarding the natural gas severance tax it is my hope that the governor and the legislators recognize the challenges we are facing and help us meet them with the resources that are required."

Tosca, PennDOT district executive, noted several statistics about PennDOT and roads in her speech. They included:

- In the three Northern Tier counties - Bradford, Sullivan and Tioga - within PennDOT District 3-0, PennDOT maintains 1,811 miles of state roads. Of those, over 1,000 miles were not constructed to support heavy truck traffic; they have a thin pavement structure.

- With the acceleration of Marcellus Shale gas drilling, PennDOT has seen Bradford County's secondary roads, which typically carry 20 trucks or less a day, now carrying 700 truck a day, she said. Nearly 60 miles of roadway (44 in Bradford County) were destroyed during the spring thaw, she noted. Roads with paved surfaces were turned to dirt with additional heavy truck traffic, she added.

- The gas companies have started restorations, but it has been "slow," she said.

- Not only is the increase in truck traffic adversely impacting the secondary system, PennDOT has seen daily traffic volumes double in the past two years on Traffic Route 6 to more than 6,000 vehicles, with 1,000 of that being truck traffic alone, according to Tosca. She said this is accelerating the deterioration and requiring more repairs on major routes and the need to perform more frequent resurfacing treatments.

- She noted that an old bridge system exists, and the additional truck traffic has accelerated the deterioration of this fragile system. Since this spring, PennDOT has had to place weight limits on three bridges that it did not anticipate having to do prior to their replacement.

- PennDOT has had to redirect significant staff to inspect roads and bridges weekly, complete studies on the system, place weight limits and signs on more than 120 roads in the past 18 months alone, review the proposed restorations and have staff inspect work completed by the gas companies. She said that this comes at a significant cost that PennDOT is not able to fully recoup. She noted that since April, PennDOT has spent close to $200,000 on activities associated with gas drilling. According to Tosca, this means there will be two less short-span bridges that their department forces will not be able to replace, or 20 miles of surface improvement (oil and chip) it will not be able to fund. At a time when the agency's buying power and transportation budgets are shrinking, these additional costs will have further devastating impact on the transportation system, she said.

And, she said, the same impacts are being experienced by the municipal partners on the local transportation systems they maintain.

Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.