If elected, state auditor general candidate Eugene DePasquale promised Thursday to audit the state's water protection programs to ensure Marcellus Shale drilling is not polluting drinking water.
"Right now, we have no independent assessment of that," Mr. DePasquale, a Democrat, said during a meeting with the Times-Tribune editorial board.
Citing a recent Harrisburg Patriot-News story that showed a lack of regular shale gas well inspections, Mr. DePasquale, 41, a state representative who lives in West Manchester Twp., York County, acknowledged the auditor general's office lacks the technical expertise to judge pollution, but its audits can ensure a proper inspection system is in place.
"Regardless of whether you're pro-drilling or anti-drilling, I'm not convinced we have enough people (at DEP) on the ground to make sure the system is working the way it's supposed to," he said.
The auditor general's mission is auditing any government entities that receive state money.
Mr. DePasquale said an office audit could help reveal the reasons for a decline in assessment test scores among Pennsylvania public school students.
Education advocates blame Gov. Tom Corbett's cuts in education funding for the declines. State Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis has credited his department's increased scrutiny for test cheating for the decline, though a group advising him says it never studied the connection and only speculated there might be one.
"You have to go into it (an audit) with an honest assessment," Mr. DePasquale said. "The easiest thing to say is the test scores have gone down, the governor made cuts to public education, therefore, that's the reason. I'm also going to tell you that I've been around the block enough that there may be one plus one plus another one in there that may be going on as well. Economic conditions may play a part."
Mr. DePasquale promised he would work with governors to find solutions before publicizing audit results. If governors fail to act on his findings, then he will campaign publicly for change, he said.
"I would be comfortable either way. I would prefer the former," he said. "My idea is to make government work, to make these programs work, not to just sit down and score political points."
A lawyer, Mr. DePasquale said he does not believe his lack of accounting experience should disqualify him from holding the office, noting that past auditors general had none and succeeded anyway.
"I think the most important traits for the auditor general are leadership (and) tenaciousness," he said.
Serving his third House term, Mr. DePasquale touted his record as the first state legislator to publish his office expenses online and the one who pushed successfully for a law banning texting while driving. Getting the texting bill passed took five years, a sign of his tenaciousness, he said.
As deputy secretary for community revitalization and local government support in the Department of Environmental Protection during the Rendell administration, Mr. DePasquale takes credit for attracting the wind-power systems manufacturer Gamesa to Pennsylvania.
"With my background at DEP and as a legislator, I'm also committed to putting together policy recommendations (as auditor general) to improve the situation," he said. "Anybody can tear a house down. Anybody can say something is wrong. ⦠The goal is what are you going to do to try to fix it?"
The auditor general term is four years and pays $152,443 annually.
Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com