Shell stated it planned to hire only 400 to 600
persons; because of the location, many new employees would probably be Ohio and
West Virginia residents. Even if all possible indirect jobs--including more
low-wage clerks at local fast food restaurants--were added, the most would be
about 6,000--7,000 employees.
Pennsylvania may have been able to attract the plant
without giving up so much corporate welfare. A Shell news
release stated the company "looked at various factors to select the
preferred site, including good access to liquids rich natural gas resources, water, road and rail transportation
infrastruc ture, power grids, economics, and sufficient acreage to
accommodate facilities for a world scale petrochemical complex and potential
future expansions." Even then, Shell said it could be "several years" before construction would begin. At the
proposed location, the Horsehead Corp., which signed an agreement with
Shell to sell the land, has until April 30, 2014, before Shell could begin
construction.
Corbett may have believed
that extending corporate welfare to Royal Dutch Shell was just good business,
and would spur job creation and the economy. But, there is another probability
for his generosity, and it's both personal and political.
Dory Hippauf's "Connecting
the Dots" series
explains why Corbett may have been so generous with extending tax credits and subsidies, and it begins with billionaire
Terrance (Terry) Pegula, who sold East Resources
to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 for $4.7 billion. East Resources, according to
reporting in the Buffalo News, had "a
less-than-stellar track record in the environmental dicey business of drilling
for natural gas." Terry and Kim Pegula donated $280,000, and Shell donated
about $358,000, to Corbett's political campaign for governor . As governor, Corbett appointed Pegula in March
2011 to the newly-formed Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, which was loaded
with pro-fracking energy company executives prior to being disbanded after fulfilling
Corbett's vision to produce a pro-industry report.
The
story continues at Penn State, where the Marcellus Center for
Outreach and Research (MCOR) announced that with funding provided by General Electric
and ExxonMobil--which donated a combined $2 million to Penn State, the
University of Texas, and the Colorado School of Mines--it would offer a "Shale Gas
Regulators Training Program." The Center had
previously said it wasn't taking funding from private industry. However, the
Center's objectivity may have already been influenced by two people--Tom
Corbett, who sits on the university's board of trustees, and Terry Pegula.
Hippauf made a few more connections. Pegula, a Penn
State graduate, is full owner of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey
League. Penn State had Division II ice hockey teams that played in a 1,350 seat
stadium. That would change. In September 2010, Penn State announced that Pegula
and his wife, Kim, donated $88 million, the largest individual gift in Penn
State's history, to fund a world-class 6,000-seat ice hockey arena; the men's
and women's ice hockey teams would now become Division I athletics; the arena will
be completed this Fall. While understanding a person's motives is difficult,
it's possible the Pegulas wanted to do something nice for Penn State. It's also
possible they saw Penn State as a feeder school to the NHL, especially the
Sabres. There is also another possibility.
On the day Pegula gave the money to Penn State, he said,
"[T]his contribution could be just the tip of the iceberg, the first of many
such gifts, if the development of the Marcellus Shale is allowed to proceed."
So, now we have connections between Penn State, a
billionaire with connections to Penn State
and Pennsylvania's governor, and the world's largest gas and oil
multi-nation corporation, which has substantial holdings in Pennsylvania--and is
afraid to allow Ukrainians to hear about the negative effects of shale gas
drilling.
[Dr.
Brasch's latest book is Fracking
Pennsylvania, an in-depth look at the effects of fracking upon health,
the environment, and the economy; he also discusses the politics of fracking.
The book is available at www.greeleyandstone.com,
amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and your local bookstore.]
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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