April 5, 2002

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Kleissler or Ryan Talbott, (814) 223-4996

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April 24, 2002

For Immediate Release

Contacts: Jim Kleissler or Ryan Talbott (814) 223-4996

Advisory Panel calls for DCNR to cancel auction of oil and gas rights under State Parks and Forests

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Advisory Committee voted today to urge Secretary John Oliver to postpone the scheduled public auction of half million acres of oil and gas drilling rights under public state forest and park land until the public was given the opportunity to provide comments. The vote was 8-5 in favor of the postponement with 2 abstentions. This decision follows public scrutiny across the state that the DCNR arbitrarily acted to lease these lands without providing a public comment period or environmental impact statement.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Wednesday that both Democratic gubernatorial candidates, Bob Casey Jr. and Ed Rendell, criticized the DCNR for its lack of transparency, calling for an immediate halt to the planned auction. "Bare compliance with clearly minimal requirements is not acceptable for a land opening that is the largest in state history, and that carries the potential to have long-lasting ecological and environmental consequences for a significant portion of our public forests," Casey said.

Republican Senate leader and acting Lt. Governor Robert Jubelierer personally wrote Secretary Oliver requesting the postponement of this auction until the public was given the opportunity to comment. " Experience should have taught us that controversial environmental measures that are carried out without the opportunity for public examination are going to produce a fair amount of questions and opposition", wrote Jubelierer. "It may well be that public notice and environmental analysis historically were not part of the process, however, that does not mean that individuals and groups are compelled to abide by that now or in the future."

Mike Morrill, Green Party candidate for governor is calling for the cancellation of the auction due to the lack of public involvement and environmental review.

Conservation groups were pleased with the recommendation of the Advisory Committee but cautious to be overly optimistic. "This is the first step in the right direction but it is far from over," said Jim Kleissler, Forest Watch Director for the Clarion-based Allegheny Defense Project. "Fortunately, the Advisory Committee recognized the magnitude of such a proposal without the involvement of the public. We join other conservation groups and citizens across the state in urging Secretary Oliver to act on the recommendations of his advisory committee and to cancel this auction until a comprehensive environmental impact statement is compiled and released for the public to review."

Members of the Allegheny Defense Project visited the site of the first Trenton-Black River well drilled in Pennsylvania on the border of McKean and Elk County near Kane. Upon reaching the site, the conservationistsÕ fears were confirmed as to the magnitude of these developments and the impacts to the environment.

"The well pad clearing was approximately three acres with another acre clearcut for a gravel pit," said Ryan Talbott, Forest Watch Coordinator for the Allegheny Defense Project. "This is a very intense operation, nothing like Pennsylvania has ever seen. If this auction takes place, our state forest and park lands will be severely fragmented by an array of clearcuts, access roads, pipelines and compressor stations."

The DCNR has stated this auction will promote jobs in the region but Allegheny Defense Project Board President Bill Belitskus noted the misleading nature of this statement. "The sophistication of this type of operation requires the hiring of workers outside the region who are familiar with this drilling process. The workers we talked with at the site near Kane were from Canada. This area simply lacks the experience necessary to do this type of drilling," said Belitskus.

To date, Secretary Oliver has taken a hard-line stance defending DCNRÕs decision to go forward with this public auction despite the lack of public participation and environmental review. The DCNR has alleged that their lease would prohibit road and pipeline construction in State Parks, Natural Areas and Wild Areas but conservationists dispute this.

"What Secretary Oliver is trying to do now is to cover his tracks by developing a non-binding, meaningless guidance that claims these special areas will be protected when in fact they will not be protected", said Kleissler. "The lease clearly does not prohibit the location of roads and pipelines in these areas. In fact, the lease even provides a waiver would allow drilling in these protected areas."

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