Gubernatorial candidates discuss fracking at panel

It’s early, but Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidates have begun to line up, and on Sunday, they plead their cases to Pittsburgh-area voters.  

The eight candidates gathered at Carnegie Mellon University at 2 p.m. Sunday to address a range of issues, including statewide fracking.

After the Democratic Primary elections May 20, one of the candidates will face incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett, who has served as the state’s Republican governor since 2011. Corbett announced his plans to run for a second term in November 2013. The general election will take place November 2014. 

Candidates in attendance included John Hanger, former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; Jo Ellen Litz, Lebanon County commissioner; Rob McCord, Pennsylvania treasurer; Katie McGinty, former secretary of environmental protection; Max Myers, businessman and minister; Ed Pawlowski, Allentown mayor; Allyson Schwartz, United States representative from Pennsylvania’s 13th congressional district; and Tom Wolf, businessman and former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. 

Paul Klein, a business professor at Duquesne University, and Krysia Kubiak Vila-Roger, assistant general counsel at Duquesne Light, moderated the forum that was sponsored by local democratic organizations.

The moderators raised a number of topics that applied to the Western Pennsylvania region, placing an added emphasis on natural gas and the process by which it’s extracted. 

A majority of the candidates supported development of the Marcellus Shale — a formation of sedimentary rock containing a number of pockets of natural gas that extends throughout the Appalachian region — and the use of some form of hydraulic fracturing — or the extraction of oil from the ground to using a mixture of high pressure water, chemicals and sand — within the state. But a majority also supported a moratorium, or temporary suspension, of fracking to research the potential damage it could inflict on the environment.

Pawlowski expressed an interest in enacting heavy regulation on the drilling industry, especially regulations on fracking in order to promote clean water. He also proposed a moratorium on drilling in state parks. 

In accordance with the other candidates, McCord said he believed fracking will boost the state’s economy.

“We would need appropriate regulation that would include the creation of tons of STEM-related jobs for young people coming out of places like CMU to check on environmental quality,” McCord said. 

Litz said she would implement water and dye testing on water sources near frack-drilling and tax-fracking companies. She added that if a company violates environmental laws repeatedly, its licences will be revoked, serving as a deterrent for other natural gas companies.  

Hanger said he hopes to enact stricter regulations on fracking and to strengthen Corbett’s restrictions on the oil-drilling companies by increasing oversight. 

“I would put teeth into regulation by hiring another 105 inspectors,” Hanger said. 

Wolf said he also believes fracking would positively impact the economy as well as provide an opportunity for a new stream of revenue for the cash-strapped state government. He proposed a 5-percent tax on fracking to create more jobs for teachers and to fund projects to rebuild roads and bridges. 

Like Wolf, Schwartz said she would also enforce a 5-percent severance tax. She stressed that the tax revenue would be invested into discovering a renewable form of energy.  

Myers was the only candidate to wholly support the moratorium on fracking regardless of the location because he believes fracking will poison surrounding ground water.  

Fracking on public and private land was also a recurring topic at the forum, and some Pitt students in attendance were particularly passionate about the issue. 

A group of representatives from Free the Planet, a student-run organization at Pitt that promotes awareness of environmental issues, attended in order to promote the moratorium on fracking in Allegheny parks. Lora Matway, a sophomore majoring in urban studies, and Eleanora Kaloyeropoulou, a sophomore, serve as project liaisons for the group.

The environmental organization hoped to reach voters regarding the controversy. 

“As people who are from different parts of Pennsylvania, we care about this fracking issue because, right now, it’s just not safe,” Matway said. 

The moratorium, which the group is in favor of, was proposed by Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Allegheny, in September. The bill would restrict the state from issuing any new fracking permits for three years following its passage while health-related institutions conduct further research.

The bill is currently being considered by the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

Free the Planet is not currently supporting any gubernatorial candidate, and Kaloyeropoulou said the group is mainly focusing on endorsements of state senators.

“This is our first direct action, but we hope to grow as a campus at this point,” she said.