{"id":15412,"date":"2013-04-26T11:45:31","date_gmt":"2013-04-26T15:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=15412"},"modified":"2013-04-26T11:45:31","modified_gmt":"2013-04-26T15:45:31","slug":"cawley-defends-corbett-record-at-chamber-luncheon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=15412","title":{"rendered":"Cawley defends Corbett record at Chamber luncheon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lt. Gov., chair of Public Utilities Commission talk economic development benefits of Marcellus Shale<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cawley-Powelson\"<\/a>

Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley (left) and Chair of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and questions following remarks at Wednesday’s Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce Annual Spring Luncheon. Photo credit: Amy Tucker Photography.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

By Mike McGann<\/strong>, Editor, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\nNEW GARDEN \u2014 Offering a strong defense of Gov. Tom Corbett\u2019s economic policies, specifically those related to spending cuts and natural gas extraction, Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley and Robert Powelson, Chair of the state Public Utility Commission detailed the coming positive impact of those policies for local businesses in Chester County in front of an audience of just under 200 at Wednesday\u2019s Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce Annual Spring Luncheon at Hartefeld National Golf Club.<\/p>\n

Cawley cited the Corbett Administration\u2019s ability to overcome a $4.2 billion budget deficit without raising taxes as the first of many achievements, although not universally popular, managed to put the state on a more solid economic footing, despite a slow national economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Tom and I first came to Harrisburg, we had a pretty simple mission in mind,\u201d Cawley said. \u201cit was actually a three-pronged mission. First, we were going to reform the way state government was doing its business. We felt that things had gotten off track in Harrisburg and we wanted to do something about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second he said, was a need to bring state spending in line with revenue or \u201crestore fiscal discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were going to stop spending our children\u2019s children\u2019s children\u2019s money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Lt.<\/a>

Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley spoke at length about the reforms brought by Gov. Tom Corbett in terms of spending and touted infrastructure investments proposed by the governor. Photo credit: Amy Tucker Photography<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The third piece, Cawley, said was better partnering with the business community with one aim: \u201cto help put Pennsylvanians back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among other priorities \u2014 and one with a potentially giant economic impact for southeast Pennsylvania \u2014 were saving the three Delaware-County petrochemical refineries. While in the short term, keeping those facilities open saved hundred of jobs, Cawley said, future use for refining and distribution of natural gas could have an enormous economic impact on the region. Later during the luncheon, Powelson went into much greater detail on how those refineries will be key to local economic growth tied to the Marcellus Shale gas field.<\/p>\n

Cawley, a former Bucks County Commissioner, also defended the need to invest in infrastructure \u2014 citing the age of bridges in the state the average age of a bridge in the state is 51 years old \u2014 and the economic impact of better roads. Corbett has proposed investing $1.8 billion on the state\u2019s highways and bridges, which would be paid for through higher wholesale gas taxes.<\/p>\n

Corbett and administration officials have argued since making the proposal earlier this year that the infrastructure improvements would better allow the state to compete in the region, spurring economic activity and job growth.<\/p>\n

But Cawley, speaking Wednesday, said that if you don\u2019t buy the economic development impact of infrastructure upgrades, virtually everyone should be swayed by the value of improving safety.<\/p>\n

\"L<\/a>

Sharing a moment, following Wednesday’s luncheon: from left: Robert F. Powelson, Chairman, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; Anthony Poluch, The Bryn Mawr Trust Company-Presenting Sponsor; Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley; Matthew Tucker, 2013 SCCCC President; Cheryl Kuhn, SCCCC Executive Director. Photo credit: Amy Tucker Photography<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEvery school day in the this state, 1.5 million children, including my son Nick, use those roads and those bridges to get back and forth to school,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a father, as a Pennsylvanian, I believe that we owe it to them to make sure that those roads and bridges are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cawley then went on to address a subject that appeared to have virtually total support in the room: privatizing the state liquor stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time for us to recognize that vestiges of the past, are just that,\u201d Cawley said, noting that just two states totally control liquor: Utah and Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Quakers and the Mormons,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n

Cawley said that for the last 10 years expenses have been higher than profits for the state system. He said that many state residents shop out of state for better selection and pricing \u2014 potentially costing the state millions in tax revenue and a sign that the state stores aren\u2019t meeting consumer needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very telling that Pennsylvanians are already making the decision,\u201d Cawley said. \u201cWe should be responsive as a state government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Powelson, who lives in Kennett Square and is a former President of the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry, focused his remarks on the controversial Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction \u2014 both in terms of the process and its environmental impact, as well as whether a severance tax should have been levied on drillers.<\/p>\n

He said that current safeguards in place for drilling are the national standard, and neighboring states such as New York are looking closely at them for possible adoption.<\/p>\n

He noted that an existing pipeline will be able to move gas products to refineries in Delaware County, which could likely spark economic development across the region \u2014 and turn the state into \u201cthe Saudi Arabia of natural gas.\u201d He said the thought that there would likely be a multi $ billion investment in the Delaware County area in facilities to turn the gas into other products, something would have a big economic impact on the whole region.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody over the next three to four to five years is going to make an investment in one of those refinery complexes,\u201d he said. \u201cI know Sen. (Dominic) Pileggi and I get a little giddy about it, but we might get our own $4 billion investment in this part of the state. And I guarantee you, and there are many small business owners here, it will impact you in a very good way.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he thought that gas exports were likely \u2014 and because the dredging of the Delaware River, the port of Philadelphia and Delaware County refineries \u2014 as well as a potential petrochemical processing plant \u2014 could have a massive economic impact on the region, an impact that would ripple strongly into Chester County.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo disrespect to my friends in Wilmington, Del., but those (gas) tankers are coming to Philadelphia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Powelson also explained why he thought impact fees, rather than a severance tax, was a better choice for Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith an impact fee, we\u2019ve collected in two cycles, over $400 million,\u201d he said. \u201cChester County, through its conservation district, received money. The City of Philadelphia received $1.2 million for greenways.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while there are existing pipelines, Powelson said, he expects the need for more \u2014 and a number of them could run through Chester County, as it represents a direct route to Delaware County and the ports.<\/p>\n

\u201cPipelines are going to be a big issue here in Chester County \u2014 I\u2019m not going to sit here and sugarcoat it,\u201d he said. \u201cFor full disclosure, don\u2019t blame me. I don\u2019t site pipelines, it\u2019s the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But you can\u2019t have the benefits of what we\u2019re talking about without pipeline logistics.\u201d<\/p>\n

But environmental concerns will not be sacrificed just for economic growth, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will hold these people\u2019s feet to the fire,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has to be done with respect to the environment. They have to be transparent. They can\u2019t just run to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and say \u2018we don\u2019t need to listen to you.\u2019 they need to listen. Because what comes out of these public input sessions are good ideas around siting this pipeline.\u201d<\/p>\n

From pipeline siting to drilling, he made it clear that the state would not trade clean water or threatening the essential nature of the county for economic development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not waiver in our commitment to safety and doing this right,\u201d Powelson said.<\/p>\n

Questions for both speakers included topics regarding taxation, environmental safety of natural gas extraction, gambling as a source of revenue, the benefits of the Marcellus Shale with regard to Amtrak and other forms of transportation, and how the Chamber businesses may benefit from natural gas extraction.<\/p>\n

Both Cawley and Powelson took questions from the audience following their remarks, most related to Marcellus Shale.
\nMatthew D. Tucker, 2013 President of the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce, who revisited the challenge he posed to all members of the Chamber in his acceptance speech at the Annual Dinner earlier this year: \u201cbecome more involved with the chamber through events and volunteer work.\u201cI want to applaud you for embracing this challenge,\u201d said Tucker.<\/p>\n

Tucker delivered a special thanks to Presenting Sponsor, The Bryn Mawr Trust Company, and Reception Sponsor, MidCoast Community Bank. He thanked Community Leader Sponsors Constellation, Fulton Bank, Jennersville Regional Hospital, Longwood Gardens, Pegasus Technologies, Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco Attorneys at Law and The Tri-M Group, as well as Partner Sponsors, Susquehanna Bank and WSFS Bank\u00a0 – and Supporting Sponsors ButlerBank Consulting, Dansko, Inc., DesignDesign and Kennett Systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lt. Gov., chair of Public Utilities Commission talk economic development benefits of Marcellus Shale By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times NEW GARDEN \u2014 Offering a strong defense of Gov. Tom Corbett\u2019s economic policies, specifically those related to spending cuts and natural gas extraction, Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley and Robert Powelson, Chair of the state Public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[29,968,3132,234,3268,3135,3133],"class_list":["post-15412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-chester-county","tag-gov-tom-corbett","tag-lt-gov-jim-cawley","tag-marcellus-shale","tag-public-utility-commission","tag-robert-powelson","tag-southern-chester-county-chamber-of-commerce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}