On June 27, the Public Utility Commission posted detailed information about this year’s distribution of drilling impact fees on natural gas producers totaling $242,964,000 on the PUC’s Act 13 website.

Additionally, another $8,866,900 is being distributed to municipalities and counties where producer payments had been withheld during a long-running court case concerning the definition of a “stripper well.” 

Because of the unique circumstances surrounding this issue, and the potential financial impact on municipalities where the disputed wells were located, the Commission felt it was important to thoroughly calculate the stripper well collections and allocate the corrected well distributions to the municipalities that did not receive those impact fees during the years the well status had been disputed.

Taken together, the PUC is distributing a total of $251,830,900 in impact fees, and over the past eight years the PUC has collected and distributed almost $1.7 billion to communities across Pennsylvania.

County and municipal governments directly affected by drilling will receive a total of $134,740,050 for the 2018 reporting year.

Additionally, $89,826,700 will be transferred to the Marcellus Legacy Fund, which provides financial support for environmental, highway, water and sewer projects, rehabilitation of greenways and other projects throughout the state.

Also, $18,397,250 will be distributed to state agencies, as specified by Act 13.

The PUC has forwarded the information to the Department of Treasury for payment and expects checks to be distributed in early July.

This year’s distribution is approximately $33.4 million higher than last year, driven primarily by an increase in the number of Pennsylvania wells paying impact fees for this year (9,560 compared to 8,518 last year).

The price of natural gas has remained relatively constant over the past year and did not impact the well fee calculations.

The distributions for individual municipalities are detailed on the PUC’s Act 13 website.

Extensive details regarding the impact fee distribution are available online, including specifics on funds collected and distributed for each year since 2011.

Visitors can search and download statistics such as distributions to individual municipalities or counties; allocation and usage of those funds, based on reports submitted by various municipalities; eligible wells per county/municipality; and payments by producers.

The PUC is responsible for implementing the collection and distribution of an unconventional gas well fee (also called an Impact Fee), established by the Unconventional Gas Well Impact Fee Act and signed into law as Act 13 of 2012.

For more information, visit the PUC’s Act 13 website.

Reaction

Marcellus Shale Coalition President David Spigelmyer said this about the Act 13 drilling impact fee revenue distribution--

“Pennsylvania’s natural gas impact tax is working as designed, as revenues – nearing $1.7 billion since 2012 – from this single tax on our industry are boosting investments in local communities across all sixty-seven counties.

“With a record $251.8 million generated last year, the impact tax empowers and supports key local initiatives and community projects that benefit every Pennsylvanian.

“Local governments rely on impact tax revenues to fund a host of priorities, including enhancing road and bridge infrastructure, flood mitigation and prevention, emergency response planning and equipment, and local parks, playgrounds and trails.

“Additionally, more than $450 million has been invested in statewide environmental infrastructure grants, including water and wastewater treatment systems, brownfield site remediation, flood mitigation and prevention, abandoned well plugging and other capital improvement projects.

“Unique to our state, Pennsylvania’s impact tax continues to be a winning policy solution for the Commonwealth.”

NewsClips:

Legere: Shale Gas Impact Fees Raise $252 Million, Breaking Record

Hurdle: Drilling Impact Fee Revenue Rises To 7-Year High Boosted By Stripper Well Decisions

PA Communities In Line To Get Share Of $251.8 Million In Drilling Impact Fees

Lycoming County Receives $10.5 Million From Drilling Impact Fee

Washington, Greene Counties To Receive $14 Million In Drilling Impact Fees This Year

Frazier: Washington County Parents Want PA To Look At Whether Fracking Is Related To Cancer Cases

Heartland Institute: Fracking Isn’t Causing Health Problems For PA School Children

Op-Ed: Fracking Does Not Need To Be Linked To Cancer To Ban It In PA

Editorial: State Must Move Quickly On Fracking Health Study

Related Articles:

IFO Projecting Either $9.6 Million Increase In Drilling Impact Fee In 2019 Or $37.1 Million Decrease

Column: Desire For Riches Often Comes At The Cost Of Natural Resources

[Posted: June 27, 2019]

7/1/2019