Onorato Presses for Oil Industry Shale Tax

Dan Onorato, the Democratic candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, visited Philadelphia today to receive the endorsement of an environmental group, "Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania."

KYW's Steve Tawa reports he also slammed Republican opponent Tom Corbett's plan regarding the Marcellus shale oil deposits.

Onorato supports a "severance" tax on natural gas drilling, noting that his plan would not only create jobs but protect the environment:

"To fund DEP [the state's Department of Environmental Protection], to fund infrastructure from wear and tear, and to fund a 'Growing Greener' fund."

Onorato wants to look into the best practices of other gas-producing states before committing to how much the tax rate should be on the gas that's pumped out of rock formations underlying parts of the Commonwealth, and how much it would generate.

Onorato says he and Tom Corbett are on opposite sides on the Marcellus shale issue:

"Mine is a real proposal on the table.  His isn't -- other than exposing the taxpayers to real risk."

Onorato says he wants the drillers to pay for it and Corbett wants taxpayers to foot the bill.

Corbett's spokesman, Kevin Harley, says if the new and growing natural gas industry is developed in an economically and environmentally responsible fashion, it will provide upwards of 500,000 jobs over several years.

(Photo by KYW's Steve Tawa)