Governor’s Energy Executive Points To Overlap With League Pipeline Recommendations
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In January, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania announced the findings of a study it did addressing the safety of natural gas pipelines which made a number of recommendations on improving pipeline safety. (PA Environment Digest 1/28/13)

In response to the study, Patrick Henderson, the Governor’s Energy Executive, wrote to Roberta Winters, Vice President of the PA League, on March 1 offering his comments on the study and asking the League to acknowledge that 10 of the recommendations came from a report he did on pipelines issued in December.  The text of the letter follows--

Thank you again for accepting my invitation last week to discuss issues related to natural gas pipelines in the Commonwealth.

In both my role as Energy Executive for Gov. Corbett, as well as a native of Lycoming County, I was particularly interested to read the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania report entitled, “Pipelines in Pennsylvania: A Case Study of Lycoming County” that the League released at its press conference in January.

As you know, and as we discussed last week, I was charged under Act 13 of 2012 with submitting a report to the Pennsylvania General Assembly on the placement of natural gas gathering pipelines.  This report was submitted to the General Assembly on December 11, 2012.

In reviewing the League’s report and accompanying recommendation, I was pleased to see that there are several areas of common ground.  I also believe that there are many recommendations put forth by the League which are already currently being implemented in Pennsylvania.

However, upon closer examination of the League’s report, I was, candidly, shocked to see that several of the recommendations I submitted to the General Assembly were included in the League’s own list of recommendations.  My recommendations-- and by extension, those of Gov. Corbett-- are presented to the reader of the report as if they are the League’s own recommendations.

In several cases, recommendations from my report are repeated verbatim or near-verbatim in the League’s report (see #10, #11, #12, #21, #22, #23, #24, #48, #50 and #51).  The League gives no attribution to these recommendations and presents them as the League’s own original work.

Ironically, the League’s report contains an extensive list of those resources and organizations which contributed to it,  but makes no acknowledgement of the Governor’s Office.

This matter is particularly disappointing given that the report was funded by taxpayers under a $49,500 grant to the League from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

I request that the League take immediate action to note that the specific recommendations cited above were put forth by the Governor’s Office-- not the League-- and to further amend your report to provide proper credit and attribution to the Governor’s Office.

 

A copy of the letter is available online.


3/4/2013

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