PA Gov Wolf Defends Anti-Drilling Choices for DEP, DCNR
Pennsylvania Gov.-Elect Tom Wolf is already playing defense about his pick of two people–John Quigley and Cindy Dunn, both of whom have worked for the anti-drilling PennFuture organization–to run the Dept. of Environmental Protection and the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, respectively (see Wolf Officially Announces Quigley to Head DEP, Dunn to Head DCNR). He’s also pretty thin-skinned about the valid observation that he seems to using a lot of Rendell retreads in his administration–both Quigley and Dunn, as well as others, worked for former Gov. Ed “Fast Eddie” Rendell. Seems that Wolf’s “outsider” facade is being ripped right off his face. Wolf’s team is composed of consummate Harrisburg insiders. Here’s what Wolf snipped to reporters yesterday when asked about it…
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If there’s one thing you NEVER do, it’s get between an anti-driller and a camera/microphone. Elected town leaders in Ligonier Township (Westmoreland County), PA found that out the hard way Tuesday night. At the regular town board meeting there was a 45-minute section of the meeting, out of a much longer meeting, devoted to discussion of new zoning regulations for Marcellus Shale drilling in the township. The new zoning regs are, according to town leaders, a “work in progress.” About 100 people showed up at the meeting, 50 of whom wanted to talk about this “work in progress.” It was a regular town board meeting and not the time to devote the 3-4 hours necessary for anti-drillers to preen before the cameras and spew their same old same old. Ligonier supervisors kept to the 45-minute time limit and shut down the freak show at that point. That enraged a handful of mouthy anti-drillers and, according to witnesses, the meeting got “out of control”…
It’s interesting to MDN that several of the seven Pennsylvania towns that sued the state over the Act 13 law and its zoning provisions–presumably because they didn’t want any Marcellus drilling in their borders–have done a 180 degree turnabout. It happened first in Robinson Township (Washington County), PA–the very township whose name is forever (shamefully) emblazoned on the case, which is called “Robinson v Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” Voters in Robinson tossed their anti-drilling leaders out of office (see 
In a huge disappointment, Gov.-elect Tom Wolf has tapped two members of the same anti-drilling “environmental” organization–PennFuture–to head up the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Both also once worked for Gov. Ed Rendell (Wolf is acting more like Fast Eddie every day). Wolf is tapping John Quigley, who was Secretary of DCNR under Gov. Ed Rendell, to be Secretary at the DEP. Lately, Quigley has hung his hat at PennFuture as its government relations manager. His boss at PennFuture, Cindy Dunn (president of that organization), will become the Secretary of DCNR for Wolf. She served as deputy secretary of the DCNR under Rendell. It’s all kind of incestuous, isn’t it? PennFuture has a history of opposing the Marcellus industry–and now these two Rendell retreads are put in charge of managing the Marcellus industry. Unfortunately, we take that has an bad harbinger of what Wolf plans for Marcellus drilling in the Keystone State. His true colors are starting to show…
It seems no one IS above the law, including Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, Kathleen Kane. She is, you may recall, anti-drilling and has targeted both large and small companies related to the Marcellus industry. She abused her office by filing criminal charges against XTO Energy for an accidental spill that occurred two years before she took office (see 
It’s a wrap. MDN predicts one day we’ll look back on January 5 and the pro-drilling rally hosted by the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York as the date when landowners and those of us who support shale drilling fully committed ourselves to ending Andrew Cuomo’s frack ban in New York State. We will one day look back and say, “It all started there, on that date–our eventual victory.” Landowners now understand they cannot be silent, they cannot depend on lawsuits alone, to change the situation in New York. Landowners, union members and even those without land but who support drilling were at the rally in huge numbers, they were mad and they expressed their willingness to fight to protect our Constitutional property rights. Make no mistake, it will be a fight. MDN previously wrote up our impressions of the meeting (see