PennFuture: PA's Top Environmental Advocacy Group

Background

PennFuture – the formal name is Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future – is the commonwealth’s main environmental advocate. Based in Harrisburg and headed by president and CEO Jan Jarrett, the group lobbies for environmental legislation and actively supports “green” efforts in the public and press.

On the issue of natural gas drilling, PennFuture takes a more moderate approach than other environmental organizations. It’s pushing for stronger regulation and a severance tax on energy companies, but doesn’t advocate a hydraulic fracturing moratorium, like Clean Water Action, PennEnvironment and other groups are calling for.

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November 28, 2012

Hanger Kicks Off Gubernatorial Campaign

A full two years before Pennsylvanians vote on their next governor, former Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger has officially kicked off his campaign. More from the AP on today’s announcement: Hanger vowed to make education the top priority for state funding and to end Pennsylvania’s status as the only major natural gas-producing state [...]

April 23, 2012

Plain Language Version of Pennsylvania’s New Drilling Law Published

The environmental group PennFuture has published an easy to read, plain language version of Act 13, the state’s new drilling law. To download this version, you can click here. Attorneys working for the group helped translate the document and are available for questions on the new law. PennFuture also created a fact sheet, which contains [...]

March 5, 2012

PennFuture Hires Former DEP Official as New President

One of the state’s largest environmental groups will now be run by a former regional chief from the Department of Environmental Protection. PennFuture announced Monday that George Jugovic, Jr., will take over as president and CEO of the organization. Jugovic was the southwest regional director for the DEP in Pittsburgh, serving under former Governor Ed [...]

March 1, 2012

Another Take On PA Plant Closures

While Republican U.S. Senator Pat Toomey is lamenting GenOn’s decision to close five Pennsylvania coal-fired power plants due to new environmental regulations, former Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary John Quigley is applauding the move. Blogging at the PennFuture website, he writes, The switch from goal to gas is saving lives. Every year, pollution [...]

December 21, 2011

PennFuture Returns State Grant, After Corbett Staffers Uncover Contract Violations

Pennsylvania’s leading environmental advocacy group, PennFuture, had to return a $138,000 state grant, after violating the contract it agreed to with the Department of Community and Economic Development. Don Gilliland of the Patriot-News broke the story: Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future — better known as PennFuture — received a two-year grant from the Department of Community [...]

December 6, 2011

PennFuture Report Claims PA Has Shelled Out $2.9 Billion To Oil, Coal And Gas Companies

A new PennFuture study claims Pennsylvania has provided $2.9 billion in subsidies to what it calls “fossil fuel industries.” (That would be oil, coal, and natural gas.) The money has come largely in the form of tax exemptions. This is relevant, says former Democratic State Representative Dave Levdansky, because of the debate over whether to [...]

October 28, 2011

PennFuture Makes Office Cameo

There’s an environmental advocate at Dunder Mifflin. A PennFuture magnet made a cameo appearance on The Office last night. It’s on the fridge in the break room, as you can see in this screen shot: So who’s the PennFuture supporter? Dwight? (Probably not.) Andy? Leave your guess in the comments section.

October 11, 2011

A Third Of The Way Through Its Timeline, Alternative Energy Portfolio Delivers Results

The bankruptcy of federally-backed California solar company Solyndra has soured many politicians on the idea of propping up the green energy sector with government support. But here in Pennsylvania, both Democrats and Republicans agree a plan to boost the commonwealth’s alternative energy consumption is working well. StateImpact Pennsylvania’s Scott Detrow has an update on the [...]

October 3, 2011

Reaction Pours In On Corbett’s Impact Fee Plan

We’re getting all sorts of reaction to Governor Corbett’s Marcellus Shale proposal, which includes a $40,000-$10,000-per well impact fee directing revenue to local governments and a handful of state agencies. First, the lawmakers: Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati is “pleased” to see Corbett’s impact fee, but notes “obstacles” in the way of a final [...]

September 16, 2011

Pennsylvania Flooding Didn’t Lead To Any Drilling-Related Problems

Yesterday, we reported how drillers weren’t required to tell the Department of Environmental Protection whether or not they shut down operations, due to flooding. The Patriot-News has taken a look at the larger issue of whether or not flood waters caused any drilling-related damage. Reporter Donald Gilliland’s conclusion? It wasn’t “the fracking mess some people [...]