04/22/24 - 117 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/9bh4zbtr
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Opinion- Marcellus Shale Legislation Will Provide Millions For The Environment
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Rep. Kate Harper
Much has been written about the parts of the newly enacted Marcellus Shale Impact Fee law that some environmental groups don’t like, but little attention has been paid to the millions of dollars the law makes available to communities impacted by the natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale rock formation, as well as environmental programs statewide.
Recently, gas-rich Bradford County joined the list of counties that have enacted local ordinances authorizing the collection of fees ranging from a minimum of $40,000 per well in the first year down to $5,000 per well in year 15, with adjustments that will increase the fee in each year that the price of natural gas rises as well.
That means 97 percent of the wells currently producing natural gas will be paying the fee, and millions of dollars every year (beginning right away) for the foreseeable future will be available to mitigate local impacts from the drilling, and to fund statewide environmental programs like the popular Growing Greener program that preserves farms, parkland and open space in perpetuity.
Much credit for the impact fee bill goes to state Rep. Marguerite Quinn of Bucks County, who carefully researched the industry, its Wall Street analysts and its global projections to design a program that would not drive the gas drillers out of Pennsylvania, while still providing millions of dollars every year to the Department of Environmental Protection and conservation districts.
This money will be used for enforcement of Pennsylvania’s clean air and clean water statutes, to enhance emergency management, to provide natural gas development opportunities, affordable housing, roads and bridges and other services in affected counties, and for the Hazardous Sites Clean Up-Act Fund and the Environmental Stewardship Fund.
While the fracking process is unfamiliar to many Pennsylvanians and needs to be carefully monitored and regulated, it has been safely employed for years to release natural gas trapped deep within geological formations below our commonwealth and in other states.
Done safely, it is a proven job-creator for parts of rural Pennsylvania that have not seen good jobs in a generation. It also provides other highly skilled and technical employment opportunities all over Pennsylvania in the energy, chemical, road building, pipe, drill and machinery sectors of our battered economy, as well as “spill over” jobs in hotels, restaurants and other businesses.
In addition, the rich deposits of natural gas found in Pennsylvania promise real hope for energy independence for our country. Why buy oil from people who don’t like us when we can produce energy right in our own backyard ?
Act 13’s funding for the Environmental Stewardship and Hazardous Sites Clean-up Act Funds is particularly compelling. In my decade in Harrisburg, I have spent many, many budget seasons trying to ensure funding for these important line items. It’s always a tough sell, and it’s tougher now when balancing Pennsylvania’s budget without raising income or sales taxes means reducing most line items across the board.
We need to be constantly ready to remedy hazardous spills and problems from any industry, since the polluter is all too likely to go bankrupt and walk away if there’s a particularly big mess. We’ve seen it happen. Act 13 provides money to remediate and clean up spills.
At the same time, fracking for natural gas is a heavy industrial process, and it’s happening in rural Pennsylvania where we used to depend upon the lush and undisturbed forests for clean air and clean water sources. Act 13’s funding for the Environmental Stewardship Fund will allow us to do environmental projects all over the commonwealth to mitigate its detrimental effects.
Doubtless, the availability of a stable funding source for these important environmental programs was the reason why the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the Chesapeake Bay foundation, the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, the County Commissioners Association and dozens of other environmental and local government groups supported the legislation and urged its passage.
Is it a perfect bill? No, of course not.
But soon, very soon, we will feel the effects of the fee in stronger local communities, safer and better regulation of the fracking process, and in open space and watershed projects that preserve what’s clean and beautiful about Penn’s Woods.
Rep. Kate Harper serves the 61st District in Montgomery County. |
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5/28/2012 |
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