Pennsylvania Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, was joined by 14 of his Republican college in urging Gov. Tom Wolf to ban the importation of Russian-sourced energy Tuesday.
Metcalfe and his colleagues asked Wolf in a letter to end actions they felt worked against the production and exportation of Pennsylvania natural gas and fossil fuels.
“We, the undersigned majority of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, demand that Governor Wolf and the agencies he oversees do everything in their power to support the growth and proliferation of Pennsylvania’s natural gas and energy to the free world,” the legislators wrote. “With the recent Russian declaration of war against the Ukrainian people and the instability of the European energy markets, Pennsylvania has never been in a better position to power the world. The Commonwealth has a natural bounty of oil, gas, and coal that can heat homes, generate manufacturing feedstock, and fuel democracies far and wide.
The legislators said they applauded Wolf’s recent request to the state Liquor Control Board to cease selling Russian-produced liquors but said that action was a “meek show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people” and a gesture of media attention-getting.
Instead, the legislators asked Wolf to allow the development of energy resources to assist Ukrainians and western democracies.
“Just as the shallow oil and gas wells of Pennsylvania fueled the allies of the first World Wars, we should currently make use of our advanced production methods and technologies to provide Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and other resources to Europe and abroad. Instead of Russian LNG tankers entering American ports and the ports of our allies, we should be exporting LNG to our friends across the world,” they wrote. “We ask that you join the Legislature in our efforts to incur an actual impact on the situation in Europe and to urge New York and New Jersey to end their states’ policies banning the construction of any new natural gas pipelines.”
The legislators also asked for an end to the natural gas development moratorium within the Delaware River Basin.
“If we truly care about the environment and our future energy, economic, and climate needs, we would invest in domestic production instead of turning a blind eye to the standards of the Russian tundra. If anything, we and our neighboring states should ban importation of Russian sourced energy instead of making energy extraction, production, and transportation more difficult within our borders. Be a voice of encouragement to the Pennsylvanians yearning to share our liquified natural gas and energy with those in need,” they wrote.