State lawmakers have called on Auditor General Eugene DePasquale to look into transactions of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, including loans worth nearly $51 million for the purchase of land across the four county-region.

On Thursday, the state House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution for the audit of more than 100 nonpoint source pollution control program management transactions. State Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, has said he has concerns about two low-interest loans being approved for New Hampshire-based Lyme Timber Co. LP to purchase more than 60,000 acres of private forest land in Cameron, Clinton, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter counties.

“Certainly my hope is (DePasquale) will conduct the audit and use the information we compiled regarding the transactions,” Causer told The Era.

But in earlier correspondence with The Era, James W. Hourdequin, managing director/ CEO of The Lyme Timber Co. LP, said he carried no concerns over an audit of the PENNVEST transactions.

“While we have no knowledge of PENNVEST’s transactions with other companies, we hope that an audit of the Lyme transactions will put to rest some of the misinformation pertaining to these loans, which loans were unanimously supported by Republicans and Democrats on the PENNVEST board in two separate votes that occurred over the span of three months,” he said.

PENNVEST approved Lyme Timber transactions, with a 1-percent interest rate, at meetings in the fall and in January.

In March, Causer called a public meeting at the capitol to get more information on transactions. The session included officials with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and PENNVEST, as well as concerned landowners and timber operators. But Causer said he walked away with more questions than answers.

“We need to determine if these transactions are legal and whether they are appropriate,” Causer said.

He said he is unsure when the audit could take place, but he is hoping the process would be expedited.

“As elected officials, we have a responsibility to make sure state dollars are spent appropriately, and this audit would help us do that,” Causer said. “PENNVEST was created to help our municipalities pay for infrastructure maintenance or upgrades, which is vastly different from loaning funds to a private company to purchase land.”