Corbett Vows ‘Cop’ Approach to Shale Gas Industry
1 min readCorbett says he’ll get tough on gas industry despite $835k in campaign contributions from gas industry
By Brad Bumsted and Andrew Conte
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Gov.-elect Tom Corbett vows to get tough with the Marcellus shale gas industry, despite appointing industry lobbyists to his transition team overseeing environmental regulation.
“I am a cop,” Corbett, the state attorney general, told the Tribune-Review last week in his first interview since the election. “I always believe in fair enforcement of the regulations. Everyone knows I am pretty much a straight arrow. We will enforce the regulations. It’s in the best interest of the companies and the environment.”
Corbett said he wants “fair and consistent” regulation of Marcellus shale gas extraction and that he would try to avoid doing anything that would stunt the growth of the industry at a time when Pennsylvania needs jobs. Corbett opposes additional taxes or fees on the industry, but said he would consider anything the GOP-controlled Legislature proposes.
“Right now, I say we’re not going to do it,” Corbett said about a natural gas tax. “I will look at what the Legislature proposes. I do believe we need to take care of impacts at the local and county level.”
