Wolf doesn’t take over until January 20, but he is already feeling the pressure from the anti-fracking community. At rally in Harrisburg, activists chanted “ax it, don’t tax it,” demanding that Wolf impose a moratorium fracking, a common natural gas drilling practice.
Some members of the coalition “Pennsylvanians Against Fracking” said that Gov. Ed Rendell opened up the fracking era without enough study or forethought and they are looking to Wolf to dial back natural gas drilling and rely more heavily on safer renewable energy options.
In a statement, Wolf Transition Team spokesman Jeff Sheridan suggested that a moratorium is off the table:
“Natural gas is an important part of Pennsylvania’s economy, and Governor-elect Wolf wants to make sure the industry grows and works for Pennsylvania. This starts with a reasonable 5-percent extraction tax that will generate the revenue needed to fund our schools and provide proper environmental oversight. As he has always said, Governor-elect Wolf believes we need to enact practical regulatory actions, and increase funding for the Department of Environmental Protection so that it is sufficiently staffed and able to provide proper oversight.”