Onorato slams Corbett over shale position

SCRANTON – Accusing his opponent of catering to the drilling industry on one of “the biggest issues of the campaign,” Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato spoke Friday morning at City Hall about the impact Marcellus Shale drilling could have on the commonwealth – but only if it’s done correctly, he said.

“It is an issue in every single county, even the counties that are not going to have drilling because of the water issue,” Onorato said.

Onorato said his opponent, Republican Tom Corbett, “only sees the industry’s side of this issue” and has not put forward a plan to award jobs related to the drilling boom to Pennsylvanians or to protect the environment.

“I’m running for governor to represent Pennsylvania’s taxpayers. Tom Corbett is just representing the gas drillers,” Onorato said.

He spoke at length about his proposed policy that includes a competitive severance tax for drillers to fund programs to replace cuts in the state Department of Environmental Protection, to repair infrastructure including municipal roads, water and sewer lines and to fund a project to preserve farmlands and open spaces.

Funding DEP would help state officials discover and solve environmental issues that could happen across the state after the department was hit with cuts of nearly 20 percent over the last two years, Onorato said.

He also called for jobs to be given to current residents of the state. “We want those 80,000 jobs to be filled by Pennsylvanians and put our people back to work -- not Texas, not Oklahoma, not outsiders,” Onorato said.

“If this (industry) is going to be a 20- or 30-year run, we need the expertise in Pennsylvania. We need to make sure we are training workers at all levels,” he added.

Onorato said he is not concerned about the possibility of working with a Republican majority in the state Senate, citing “bipartisan support to protect the environment, bipartisan support to see a new industry grow. … I think there’s a lot of common ground here with Democrats and Republicans.”

Kevin Harley, a spokesman for Corbett’s campaign, responded Friday, saying, “Dan Onorato has a pattern. The pattern is to raise taxes.”

Harley criticized Onorato for not proposing a specific severance tax rate and said the Democrat uses only taxes as a way to solve issues.

“Dan Onorato and Ed Rendell believe that they can tax and spend their way to prosperity,” Harley said. Corbett’s plan, he said, is to keep taxes low and bring in new business to add to the tax base, not to increase the base itself.

If elected, Corbett aims to work with local elected officials to solve infrastructure problems that may occur as a result of the gas industry. He will also “ensure that there are enough inspectors” to monitor environmental hazards created by the boon, Harley said.

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Marcellus Shale - Gas Wells

Democratic gubernatorial candidate says opponent sees only industry’s side of issue.

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