Pa. Rep. Saylor Receives National Recognition for CNG Leadership
As this year’s presidential election has come to close, and the political season passes, now is the time for our elected officials to come together and work collectively towards common sense solutions toward meeting our nation’s growing challenges — job creation and energy security, chief among them.
In Pennsylvania, where enormous amounts of clean-burning American natural gas continue to be safely produced, these homegrown resources are increasingly being leveraged to power of growing transportation needs. Not only do compressed natural gas (CNG) powered vehicles provide significant cost savings for consumers and businesses, but the environmental benefits are undeniable.
Several recent news articles highlight these CNG-related benefits: “Good economic news”; “savings and fewer emissions” and “It’s cleaner, it’s less expensive and it’s homegrown”.
And as President Obama has said, “The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy.” Leaders in Washington and in state capitols – including Governors Tom Corbett, Earl Ray Tomblin, and John Kasich – across the nation understand the critical and growing role that CNG vehicles will play in powering our economy.
In fact, for his leadership on this important issue, Pennsylvania state Rep. Stan Saylor was recently recognized by NGVAmerica and the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation (CVEF), receiving their “NGV Public Policy Champion 2012” award for “showing great leadership by generating tremendous NGV momentum in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.” This from a release:
[Rep. Saylor’s] “Marcellus Works” package of legislation designed to secure Pennsylvania’s energy future and create thousands of new jobs by creating incentives for the use of clean natural gas, and Act 13 impact fee law – strongly supported by Saylor – will provide $20 million in grants through 2015 for initiatives that include the conversion of vehicles to natural gas.
“Marcellus Works encourages Pennsylvania companies with vehicle fleets to change over to natural gas vehicles,” Saylor said. This will accomplish two things: It will help clean our air by taking diesel and gasoline vehicles off the road in favor of virtually soot-free NGVs and the existence of such fleets will prompt the construction of a network of NGV filling stations, which could also be used by consumers.”
MSC president Kathryn Klaber hailed Rep. Saylor’s ongoing efforts:
“This recognition is well-deserved. Finding more ways to leverage American natural gas, especially across our transportation sector, is proving once again that Pennsylvania is the Keystone State. We thank Rep. Saylor for his leadership and pragmatism, as well as other leaders in Harrisburg, especially Gov. Corbett, and are eager to continue our collective work on this critical issue.”
Click here to find a CNG filing station near you. And for those interested in learning about the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection’s Natural Gas Vehicle Program – funded by natural gas production-related revenues – click here. These common sense efforts are Powering an American Renaissance.
