PA State Senate Proposes Impact Fee on Gas Drilling

Pittsburgh Trib, Brad Bumsted and Andrew Conte

The ranking Republican in the state Senate today proposed an impact fee on Marcellus shale gas drilling, of which an estimated 60% would go to counties and municipalities with deep wells as well as townships and boroughs neighboring drilling production sites.

The fee would be used to help cover damage to roads and bridges, maintenance and improvement costs for water and sewage systems and emergency responder costs, said Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson County.

The other 40% would be split between conservation districts statewide and environmental funds for clean up and infrastructure, Scarnati said.

The bill could be introduced as soon as next week.

The baseline fee is $10,000 per well, but it would be adjusted based on gas volume and the price of gas. The average fee per well would be about $25,000 in 2011, according to Scarnati's office.

The fee will bring in $76 million this year and will rise to at least $150 million by 2014, Scarnati said.

The legislation was much anticipated because of Scarnati's stature in legislative leadership and because Republican Gov. Tom Corbett has said flatly he will not consider a tax that brings money into the General Fund.

"I have to believe this is in the sweet spot of where I believe most legislators will be," Scarnati said.

Moreover, he said it would be difficult to pass a state budget without some sort of levy on the burgeoning industry.

"I can't see how we get a state budget done without bringing some dollars in from this industry," he said.

Marcellus drillers are open to an impact fee that provides money for local communities as long as it's "clear, straightforward and competitive," Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition trade group, said in a statement.