Marcellus Impact Fee Proposal in the Works
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
26 March 2011
By Brad Bumsted
HARRISBURG — Republican senators will introduce legislation to impose a
fee on Marcellus shale drillers in a few weeks, in an effort to offset
costs municipalities experience dealing with the growing natural gas
industry, a top Senate staffer said on Friday.
Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati of Jefferson County, the
party's highest-ranking senator in the GOP-controlled General Assembly,
could be lead sponsor of the bill, said his chief counsel Andrew
Crompton.
Counties where drilling occurs would benefit the most monetarily, but
lawmakers likely will try to compensate contiguous municipalities,
Crompton said. Those municipal boundaries could cross county lines, he
said, so "contiguous counties could well get money."
Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley said yesterday a shale advisory panel he chairs
will report to Gov. Tom Corbett in 120 days and include a
recommendation on assessing a local impact fee to help municipalities
defray costs such as road repairs and first responder units.
Corbett has said he would consider a fee to help local government
finances. But the money should not go to the state, he said.
The Senate might produce a different interpretation. Scarnati "believes
local needs are paramount, but knows that there needs to be a statewide
portion, likely for 'Growing Greener' projects and/or hazardous site
cleanup," Crompton said.
Cawley said the administration would not impose a severance tax on gas
extraction, and the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission wants evidence
of damage that's occurring from drilling operations.
"We want to understand what the actual impact is," he said.
It's not clear whether the full Senate would vote on a bill before the
commission concludes its work.
Crompton said senators do not want to usurp the commission, but
Scarnati senses urgency among local government officials and doesn't
want to wait until fall to address it.
The commission will consider a range of issues, such as environmental
impacts and the extent to which natural gas eventually could be used to
fuel state vehicles, prisons and schools, Cawley said.
Corbett's critics have said the commission's makeup is industry-heavy.
It includes drilling company executives, business representatives, six
members of Corbett's cabinet, a member of the Public Utility
Commission, environmentalists, local government officials and the
governor's energy executive, Patrick Henderson.
"This is a very interesting group of cheerleaders," Virginia Cody of
Wyoming County told the panel during its first meeting.
Joanne Fiorito, who lives near drilling sites in that county, said she
moved there "to be at peace with nature."
"You have ripped my American dream apart, and I am appalled and
outraged," she said.
Brad Bumsted can be reached at bbumsted@tribweb.com or 717-787-1405.