Quigley Nomination as DCNR Secretary Moved to a Senate Vote
More than an hour of often-heated questions over department operations, state parks and carbon sequestration preceded a unanimous vote by the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee to send Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Acting Secretary John Quigley’s nomination to the Senate floor on Thursday.

DCNR has stated that the Senate-passed budget (SB 850) would force closing of 35-40 state parks, and might result in cutbacks or closings at another 50 parks. Senators questioned the veracity of these pronouncements, and Sen. Scarnati bluntly said “The governor cut the budget for DCNR in his own budget 4.5 percent, we cut it a little bit more,” Scarnati continued. “When we cut it more, all of a sudden nuclear winter was going to come, services are being cut. … In your budget, there has to be room to keep our state parks open, there has to be the ability to move dollars around.”

The committee members also questioned Quigley about DCNR’s carbon capture sequestration program. Quigley said the technology - which aims to capture, purify and store carbon dioxide - could reduce GHG emissions and create thousands of jobs.

Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, noted that he is skeptical of the program, and raised the issue of location, asking why he was not informed that the program might be set up in his district.

Quigley told White that because the program is in its earliest planning, much of the work done to date has been securing geological information from various regions around the state, and that no final decision had been made on location. Quigley said a risk assessment report on the proposal will be completed by November 1, and that cost estimates on setting up a program could be available by the end of the summer.

The acting secretary’s confirmation will now go to the full Senate for a vote.

Home