Conservation District, Pipeline Measures Adopted By CCAP

Two measures dealing with natural gas issues that were supported strongly by Potter County were added to the County Platform by majority vote during Tuesday’s business meeting of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP). That document represents the official position of CCAP and its 67 member counties and is considered by the Senate and House in Harrisburg during legislative sessions.

One of the planks approved by the statewide membership Tuesday calls for restoring county conservation districts’ role in reviewing erosion and sedimentation plans for gas and oil drilling operations. The resolution seeks reversal of a 2009 DEP policy that stripped conservation districts of their long-held erosion and sedimentation permitting authority for oil and gas drilling sites. DEP moved to centralize permit review for drilling with its regional oil and gas offices. At the same time, this move took review authority for those plans away from county conservation districts, whose staffs are more familiar with local environmental issues and trained to deal with issues encountered in the field.

 A companion resolution, also supported by Potter County, calls for state regulation and registration of local natural gas “gathering lines” (pipelines), which are currently not subject to regulation. That plank was also approved by the full CCAP membership on Tuesday and is now part of the County Platform.

Additional reports from the CCAP Summer Conference will follow.