Corbett Withholds Paying State Dues to Del. River Commission Until they Allow gas drilling

[JPZenger]

Last edited Wed Mar 7, 2012, 02:45 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20120306_Financial_woes_shake_the_DRBC.html

The Delaware River Basin Commission is an organization formed by 4 states and the federal government to manage water resources in the Delaware River Watershed. The watershed, by the way, provides most of the water for New York City, parts of Philadelphia and its suburbs, the Easton Area, and many other communities.

The DRBC has been at a stalemate about whether to approve fracking for natural gas in the basin. It is a 2-2 tie, with the Army Corps of Engineers holding the swing vote. The fracking cannot occur without using millions of gas of water, which DRBC controls. To pressure the DRBC to approve fracking, Corbett has been delaying paying PA's dues to the organization, which pays the salaries of the staff.

Excerpt:

"The financial noose is tightening for the Delaware River Basin Commission, the arbiter of whether natural gas drilling will occur in the watershed.

Pennsylvania, which is upset that the commission has yet to authorize drilling, has withheld two quarterly payments to it. A state budget document shows Pennsylvania froze its allocation in January, reducing its payments to the DRBC by 40.7 percent this fiscal year.

This is causing worry that the commission - a national model formed by a federal compact 50 years ago - could fall apart. If the funding woes continue, "this revered agency would have to start cutting staff," said Jeffrey Featherstone, a Temple University professor and former deputy executive director at the commission. "It would be on a death cycle."

Maya van Rossum, the Delaware riverkeeper, said it seems clear Pennsylvania's failure to pay "is arm-twisting because of the gas drilling regulations." "


This cartoon is in response to a headline from last month - hundreds more gas wells exist than are shown on DEP website

[Justice wanted]

1. Freakin Koch Puppet. (This guy is just a jerk)

[appleannie1]

2. People all over the state of PA have lost their water wells because of gas wells. I am one of them.

Corbett does not care. He won't be happy until no one has drinking water.

[Trainer12]

3. Corbett is a owned by the gas drillers, what do you expect?

I think it is time to make a citizens's arrest of Governor Corbet for violating the Constitution of the Commonwealth of PA for the willful destruction of the environment by allowing carte blanche to the gas drillers and cutting funding to public education. He clearly is doing the bidding of the Koch brothers and following the template of the ALEC astroturf group of the Koch brothers. He is not representing me or the people of the Commonwealth of PA, only the big moneyed interests. How much longer before Governor Christie starts with holding his funds since the DRBC is housed in New Jersey and centrally funded by the NJ state government? This is outrageous! Corbett must be stopped. He should be sued. He should be impeached for corruption and removed from office. And if that doesn't work, he should be voted out of office next year, 2013 once and for all.

[blue neen]

5. Excellent post.

Governor Corrupt clearly is violating the Constitution of the Commonwealth. He represents no one but the Robber Barons.

I wish we could vote him out in 2013, but we have to wait until 2014. He is doing everything he can to destroy our state in the meantime.

[grntuscarora]

4. Ol' Tom

would cheerfully frack a well through his mother's living room floor if his corporate handlers told him to. I guess it's not surprising that he would use financial blackmail to get what he and the industry want. Ol' Tom sure is a hard-working little toady.

The opposition to drilling seems to be well organized in the eastern part of the state. The DRBC will get a whole lot of pushback if it looks like they're caving to Corbett, imo.

[blue neen]

6. Corporate Corbett certainly is a toady.

Last edited Tue Mar 6, 2012, 07:31 PM - Edit history (1)

You have to wonder who is doing all of his work for him, though. He doesn't seem like he's capable of thinking up all of this skullduggery on his own.

He's just capable of carrying out the Corporate Masters' marching orders.