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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2011
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Report Calls for Further Action on Surplus Property and State Land within the Marcellus Shale

Today the Legislative Budget & Finance Committee released its study and recommendations on surplus property and mineral rights in the Commonwealth.

The study, "An Inventory of State-Owned Real Property and Subsurface Mineral Rights," is a result of resolution introduced by Senator Jane C. Orie (R-40) calling for a comprehensive review of all state-owned facilities, properties, roadways, and waterways to determine their current uses and mineral rights.  "With a tough economy, it is imperative that we examine all state assets to determine if they are being used to their fullest and/or could be used for additional purposes," Sen. Orie stated when the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 383 in 2010.

Amongst the recommendations, the Legislative Budget & Finance Committee called for:

*The Department of General Services (DGS) to develop criteria to identify surplus property and underutilized property and develop a more strategic approach toward managing surplus and underutilized property.

*The General Assembly should consider allowing certain agencies to deposit at least a portion of their lease revenue into accounts which benefit those agencies.

*DGS should take the lead in assisting agencies in developing natural gas lease agreements.

*Counties in the Marcellus Shale region should take steps to update their title records.

"The report confirmed that the Commonwealth has vacant properties that we should be putting back on the tax rolls," said Sen. Orie.  "According to the report, the state has 30 vacant properties but only two have been placed before the General Assembly this year.  I plan to follow-up with the Administration to ensure we are doing everything we can to address this issue."

In regard to mineral rights, the report found that the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources owns 2.2 million acres of land, 85 percent of which the mineral rights are owned by the state.  Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Game Commission owns about 30 percent of the mineral rights of Game Commission land located in the Marcellus Shale.  The report recommends that DGS consider requiring agencies to identify land in the Marcellus Shale regional that could be leased for drilling without impeding the agency’s mission.

"The Commonwealth has a multitude of challenges -- including transportation infrastructure -- that could be addressed if all of our state agencies worked proactively with each other and in a responsible manner on the Marcellus Shale," said Sen. Orie.

CONTACT:

Nate Silcox
(717) 787-6538