Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship Thursday launched a multimedia ad campaign urging Pennsylvania legislators not to support the current state budget bills, which include radical provisions that threaten the Commonwealth’s air and water quality.

“Clean air and clean water are not bargaining chips for placating special interests, they are critical assets that are essential to our health, prosperity, and quality of life,” said David Jenkins, President of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship. “Pennsylvania’s elected officials must understand just how wrongheaded it is to cede the state’s environmental oversight to polluters, jeopardizing even the most prudent environmental standards, and exposing its citizens to what President Reagan called ‘the destructive trespass of pollution.’ “

The ad campaign comes after the state Senate voted on a version of the budget revenue package that decreases oversight of the state’s oil and gas industry.

One of the most harmful environmental provisions in the budget [House Bill 542] would create a politically appointed Air Quality Permit Advisory Committee with the power to block air quality permits that reduce harmful pollution and waste, including methane emissions and natural gas waste from drilling operations.

The proposed budget also jeopardizes clean air and water by setting an arbitrary deadline for the approval of oil and gas permits, and outsourcing permit review to private companies.

The ads attest that “surrendering common sense safeguards against waste and pollution is not conservative, it is reckless. These measures squander valuable resources and release dangerous pollutants, like methane, into the air and water.”

The Legislature is expected to continue debate on the measures soon.

Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship is urging legislators to avoid jeopardizing Pennsylvania’s ability to be a responsible steward of the state’s air, land, and water.

The ad campaign will appear in print or online in 14 hometown newspapers over the next week.

Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship is a national nonprofit grassroots organization founded on the premise that environmental stewardship and natural resource conservation are inherently conservative, and that the true conservative will be a good steward of the natural systems and resources that sustain life on earth.

NewsClips:

Critics Say Budget Bill’s Environmental Riders Would Gut The Permitting Process

Letter: DEP Permitting & 3rd Party Conflicts

Conservative Group Opposes Decreased Oversight Of Industry In Budget Bills

Esack: Senate Defends Budget Earmarks Criticized By Conservative Group

Column: Seriously Pennsylvania, Pass A Severance Tax Already

State Treasurer: Bailing Out General Fund With 2nd Loan Would Be Risky

State Treasurer Warns Legislature Short-Term Loans Can’t Continue

State Treasury May Stop Loaning Money To Struggling General Fund

Editorial: PA Budget Fight Needs Wolf’s Bark

Editorial: PA’s M.IA. Budget: Any Day Now

Editorial: Vacation’s Over, Time To Finish State Budget

Editorial: One-Time Transfers Don’t Work To Balance State Budget

VA Sen. Warner: Crazy For Trump To Cut Funding For Chesapeake Bay Restoration

Related Stories:

Op-Ed: State Budget Bill A Disaster In The Making, PA Environmental Council

30 Environmental Groups Urge House To Vote Against Budget Bills That Would Demolish DEP

Why Are Your Legislators Still Giving $60M A Year To Johnny Depp?  Now Stage Shows?

Day 52: General Fund Exhausts Full $750 Million Line Of Credit To Pay State Bills

Business, Energy Groups Oppose Severance, Energy Taxes, Don’t Expect Permit Reforms To Survive Legal Challenges, Distance Themselves From 3rd Party Permit Reviews

Rep. Reed: It’s No Secret We Don’t Support Senate Revenue Package, No Urgency To Resolve The Issues

Gov. Wolf Puts $188.3 Million In Budgetary Reserve, Cuts Heritage Parks $625K, State Parks $500K

PA Environmental Council: Budget Deal, A Bad Solution To The Wrong Problem

PRC Urges Senate, House, Gov. Wolf To Oppose Budget Bill Changes That Undercut DEP’s Permitting Authority

Manganese Rider In Budget Bill Shifts Responsibility For Cleaning Up Water From The Discharger To Water Companies, Other Water Users

Op-Ed: Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facilities Seek Loophole In Senate-Passed Admin Code Budget Rider

Nothing In Senate $970 Million Revenue Package For The Environment, Code Bills Littered With Environmental Riders

Senate Environmental Permitting Changes Would Emasculate DEP’s Ability To Regulate Air, Water, Mining, Waste, Radiation, Oil & Gas

[Posted: August 18, 2017]

8/21/2017