PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE APPROVES POTENTIALLY BILLIONS IN TAX BREAKS FOR FRACKERS, SINGLE-USE PLASTICS

Taxpayer handout will continue Pennsylvania’s addiction to fossil fuels, negate efforts to reduce global warming pollution

PennEnvironment

[Philadelphia, PA] – On the day of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s annual budget address, members of the state legislature voted to give the fracking and petrochemical industry a massive tax break that could equal up to $660 million per project in lost revenue for the Commonwealth, making it harder to fund environmental protection, education, and other important priorities for the state. 

House Bill 1100 would subsidize fracking, petrochemical, and single-use plastic production. The proposal was met with broad opposition from environmental organizations. 

Gov. Wolf has stated publicly that he will veto the proposal. 

PennEnvironment Executive Director, David Masur issued the following statement in response: 

“With all the important challenges facing the Commonwealth, giving a massive tax break to some of the companies with the deepest pockets and longest-standing legacies of pollution on the planet is outrageous. Voters expect our elected officials to work to tackle climate change and pollution from plastics, not give huge handouts to polluters.

“Sadly, politicians like to talk a big game when it comes to things like tackling climate change and plastic pollution, but actions speak louder than words. It’s time for legislators to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Of all the state priorities and all the ways to manage the state’s money, this takes us in the wrong direction.

“Pennsylvania’s ongoing reliance on fossil fuels and practices like fracking wipe out any strides taken in recent years to reduce climate pollution. Petrochemical facilities have become the single-largest industrial emitters of global warming pollution in the world. 

“From cradle-to-grave, fracking and fossil fuels pose huge risks to our environment, health, and communities. Then they pack up and force us to foot the bill to clean up their messes.

“Hard-working Pennsylvanians need to pay their fair share to state coffers every day. The message that our politicians in Harrisburg sent this week is that polluters don’t have to.”

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PennEnvironment is a citizen-funded environmental advocacy organization working to promote clean air, clean water, and protect Pennsylvania’s great natural heritage. For more information about this and PennEnvironment’s other work, visit www.PennEnvironment.org.