Gov.'s gas drilling advisors keeping recommendations mum for now

HARRISBURG - Gov. Corbett's advisory group on natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale is set to meet in public Friday to recommend ways for dealing with the growing industry - catch is, the public won't necessarily know what it is they are recommending.

That is because the governor's much-ballyhooed commission has decided it will not detail the actual recommendations when voting on them, but instead include those that are approved in a report it will send to the governor by the end of next week. That report will be made public.

The recommendations are expected to include whether to impose a tax or fee on the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.

Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, who heads the commission, said through a spokesman Thursday that the panel is under no legal obligation to even make its meetings public, but has consistently done so over the last four months because of the administration wants the process to be transparent.

Not only that, added Cawley spokesman Chad Saylor, but the commission collected public testimony from dozens of industry experts, impacted communities and about 100 members of the public, and is also publishing on its website nearly 600 emails it has received, also from the public.

And there will be discussion, and possibly even some debate, Friday on the recommendations as they are being vetted, tweaked and voted.

Then why keep its recommendations secret?

"Because, first of all, the recommendations are still a work in progress," said Saylor, adding that Cawley also wanted commission members to feel like they could make suggestions without worrying that those would be public before being vetted by the commission as a whole.

"We are trying to strike a balance," said Saylor.

But the decision to shield the recommendations - about 90 of them are expected - sparked an immediate outcry. The debate over how to deal with the burgeoning drilling industry has become both politically and emotionally charged, even as the divide in Harrisburg deepens over whether to impose a levy on natural gas drillers.

The discussion has become even more weighted by the realities of tough economic times - and the Corbett administration's final negotiated budget with the legislature, which contained deep cuts for public education and welfare but no increased or new taxes.

The commission's recommendations are bound to become the barometer for setting public policy on drilling in Pennsylvania. And not just on the question of whether to tax the industry, but also on environmental, public safety and economic development matters.

Jan Jarrett, who heads the statewide environmental advocacy group PennFuture, noted that there were questions from the start about the effectiveness of the advisory commission, which is dominated by members of the administration and drilling industry.

The commission's decision to keep its recommendations secret will only add fuel to the perception that the administration is controlling the process to reflect its priorities. Corbett has made no secret of his belief that there should be no tax on natural gas extraction, although he has left open the possibility of a so-called "impact fee."

"It begs the question about whether the outcome is completely controlled and pre-determined by the administration," said Jarrett.

Saylor said that the commission, as an advisory panel with no authority to make binding recommendations, is not subject to the requirements of the Sunshine law. He cited a report from the state Office of Open Records.

But the commission is likely subject to open public records law, and citizens will be able to request documents that are not made public.

Terry Mutchler, who heads the Office of Open Records, stressed that her office does not have jurisdiction over open meetings and the state's Sunshine law.

But, she said, "it seems to me incumbent on such an important body to err on the side of openness . . . Citizens need to be at the table, not locked out of the room."

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