Good Column About Corbett's Environmental Deregulation and Gas Wells

[JPZenger]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/10/954784/-De-facto-deregulation-of-shale-gas-drilling-in-PA

Excerpts:

"As noted by Abrahm Lustgarten at ProPublica, Tea Party darling governor Tom Corbett has initiated a two-pronged attack on environmental regulation in PA. First, he is gutting the budget for the DEP across the board, including funding for water safety and treatment programs. The previous administration was slow to react to the gas drilling boom in funding inspection and testing programs, but increased funding over the past two years. Corbett is not merely content to cut the DEP off at the knees in reversing funding for the agency. He is giving ultimate veto power over the DEP to the DCED with a sweep of the pen...

It remains to be seen how far Corbett will go in endangering the public to profit the gas industry, but his actions to date have hardly been subtle. He relentlessly attacked environmental regulations during his campaign for governor. After declaring victory, his first appointment was C. Alan Walker to head DCED. Walker is the owner of a large coal and gas company, not to mention the largest benefactor of Corbett. Walker and DCED is then given veto power over any permit or regulatory action under the canard of promoting job creation...

As noted by Earthjustice, Corbett's actions appear to break new ground.

“I have never seen anybody give an economic development director the authority to tell every other agency in the state what to do with regard to its statutory responsibilities,” said Deborah Goldberg, an attorney with Earthjustice, an environmental group active on drilling issues. “The law requires that you not pollute the waters of Pennsylvania, and if he tries to speed up an application that makes it possible that that is going to happen then I think he is clearly operating outside of his authority.”

[Divernan]

1. Corbett follows Palin: Governors can do whatever they want until a court tells them not to.

That was the philosophy by which she ran Wasilla and later, the whole state.
Would that he further follow her example and quit halfway through his term.