Well Levdansky is at it again... After trying to cater to demands of nonhunting environmental extremistsat Audubon and others bytrying to find"other" funding sources for pgc and sponsoring a bill last year that would have allocated a portion of sales tax to pgc.... Then having less than good will towards hunters of Pa bypushing the version of the auditproposal thatTim Shaeffer of Audubon basically prepared...

Now this clown is yet again trying to undercut the sportsmen and women of our state by attempting to create another funding source yet again, I believe the first part of the very first sentence basically sums it up. Environmentalist and conservationist extremists are what we are talking about here. The "sporting groups" thrown in for good measure to "counter" the unsavory element of ecoextremists alone. The "sporting groups" being the usual suspects that also call nonhunting environmentalists members. Anyway, heres the article:

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COALITION CALLS FOR ENACTMENT OF SEVERANCE TAX ON MARCELLUS SHALE

3/16/09

By Kimberly Collins, PLS

A coalition of environmental, conservation, and sporting groups; municipal officials and state legislators today called for the enactment of a severance tax on natural gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale and announced the release of a public poll demonstrating strong public support for such a tax.

Andy Loza, of the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, spoke in support of the severance tax proposed by the Governor, stating Pennsylvania has a wealth of natural resources and as the natural gas is drilled it is imperative that the other natural resources be protected. He noted 39 other states have similar taxes and argued it is "only fair and reasonable" to implement a severance tax.

Loza cited a recent statewide poll which showed that the majority of Pennsylvanians support taxing natural gas drilling, and nearly 9 out of 10 want a portion of the tax revenue used to protect Pennsylvania’s land, water, and wildlife.

"The breadth of support for conservation funding is astounding," said Loza. "Support for the idea of dedicating severance tax revenues to conservation cuts across every region of the state and every demographic group. And that support also extends to dedicating a portion of gas lease revenues on public land to protecting our environment."

Referring to the impact that the growing natural gas industry will have on Pennsylvania’s wildlife, water and infrastructure, Loza further argued that a portion of the revenue from the severance tax should be dedicated to preserving the environment and another portion should be allocate to local government to address the increased stress on infrastructure.

Rep. Bud George (D-Clearfield), Chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, stated "implementing a severance tax is a no-brainer and failing to do so would be a no-gainer for Pennsylvania." He pointed out that Pennsylvania would be the only gas-rich state without an extraction tax and argued failure to enact the tax would be a "foolish handout" to the gas industry. He said natural gas drillers are using taxpayers’ resources for their profit and argued the governor’s proposed tax of 5% at the well head plus 4.7 cents per thousand cubic feet is "modest."

Rep. Dave Levdansky (D-Allegheny), Chairman of the House Finance Committee, discussed the risk that the extraction of natural gas poses to the environment and the impact it has on communities, and argued that the industry should bear the costs of these risks. Rep. Levdansky said he weighs five factors whenever considering a new tax: fair, competitive, market-oriented, efficiently collected, and collected in a timely fashion. According to him the proposed tax meets these standards. Referring to arguments that a new tax would stymie growth in the new industry, Rep. Levdansky argued now is the time for the new tax because the industry can build the costs into business models. Further, he said that Pennsylvania has no dedicated taxpayer support for wildlife management and argued that a portion of the tax should be allocated to the Game and Fish and Boat Commissions to help them in their missions, which benefit all Pennsylvanians.

"Our Game Commission and Fish and Boat Commission are in difficult financial straits, constantly underfunded as they carry out their duty to protect our land and water," said Rep. Levdansky. "It is vital to remember that the commissions are charged under state law to protect and manage all species in the interests of all Pennsylvanians. Therefore it is appropriate and worthy to use a portion of the severance tax to invest in the work of the commissions to improve habitat and public access to our land and water, and to grow our burgeoning wildlife recreation industry."

Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) offered his support for a severance tax and noted that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy will be holding a hearing on the severance tax on April 3. He said Loza and Doug Hill, of the County Commissioners Association, will be testifying before the committee.

Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), said, "The Marcellus Shale offers us a tremendous opportunity to expand our supply of domestic fuel and, through the proposed severance tax, bring revenue into the state, at a time when our budget forecasts are so dire. But it also offers a tremendous risk to the land, water, and wildlife that makes Pennsylvania so special. These drilling operations use millions of gallons of water and scar our land, at least temporarily. This poll shows that our citizens recognize that it is only fair that a portion of the severance tax goes to protect the environment."