House OKs halt to gas leasing on Pa. forest land

A bill to temporarily stop the leasing of state forest land for natural gas drilling has state House approval and is headed to the Senate.

The House of Representatives approved the bill 157-33 on Tuesday. It would immediately enact a three-year moratorium.

Proponents of the bill want a thorough environmental assessment of the impact of drilling on the land before more can be leased.

A spokesman for the Senate's Republican majority says there's no plan to act on the bill and that the state already has strong regulatory authority over environmental impact.

The Rendell administration has leased more than 100,000 acres to drilling companies hungry to explore the Marcellus Shale natural gas formation.

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