The New Tom Corbett (TM) brags about fining Halliburton - see he really cares about the environment

[JPZenger]

You old folks may remember the 1968 campaign, when everyone was told that there was now a "New Nixon" running for President. We now have the brand new New Tom Corbett (registered trade mark), who is completely different from that old Tom Corbett that everyone hated.

The New Tom Corbett (TM) really cares about public schools. The New Tom Corbett does not ignore environmental pollution. In fact, I just received THREE different copies of the same official PA email bragging that the Corbett Administration actually fined Halliburton. That's right - the hated Halliburton.

Halliburton agreed to pay a fine of $7,000 for each violation. This was for three years worth of illegal transport of hydrochloric acid from fracking operations, and taking it to an unauthorized treatment and disposal facility. Halliburton probably had to give up 3 minutes worth of profits to pay the fine.

The Corbettites must be using every email list they can buy to send out this message that they are tough on polluters, and not in bed with every fracker.

See the New Tom Corbett (TM) is really different from that guy who ran the PA. government and its school systems into the ground for the last 4 years, and who kept hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians from receiving affordable health insurance. The New Tom Corbett (TM) cares about you.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1019437-halliburton-cacp-executed.html

[blue neen]

1. Oooh. Tommy Corbett smacked Halliburton's wittle wee hand.

Apparently, we're supposed to be impressed.

Have you seen Tom Wolf's ad where he talks about Pennsylvania being the only state not charging an extraction tax? It's spot on.

Tom Corbett can go pound salt.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. Yes, PA DEP really did send this email out three times.

Finally, one thing that they could be proud of and they let us know. I guess that they didn't realize how pathetic the fines were, especially when you see that there is a pattern of abuse of the law by Halliburton. This has been ongoing:

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is fining Halliburton Energy Services $1.8 million for 255 violations of the Solid Waste Management Act between 1999 and 2011.

Twelve years! Twelve freaking years! This is not a mistake, this was standard operating procedure. And the fines only go back three years. They got away with this totally free for nine years.....can you imagine how much money they saved in that time????

Also, "DEP became aware of the violations in 2011 during an inspection of the facility"....why did it take all this time to fine them?????

[modrepub]

3. It pays to pollute

This fine works out to about $411/day. It would probably have cost them more than this to have properly handled/stored/disposed of it's waste. State solid waste fines are a joke. In many instances it's just cheaper to pay a fine (if you have deep pockets).

[JPZenger]

4. Halliburton got off easy for 12 years of environ. violations, says Pburgh Post-Gazette editorial

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/2014/02/22/12-years-of-violations/stories/201402200159#ixzz2u9DTOiSt