On June 10, 2015, the
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) released information
on their official website detailing the amount of money collected and
distributed by the PUC to local governments under Act 13. The legislation
establishes the payment of an impact fee for the unconventional wells operators
covering the impacts of drilling.
For the 2014 year, local
governments have received the amount of $223,500,000.00 – most of the top
receiving local governments are located in the Northern and Southwestern parts
of Pennsylvania where a majority of unconventional wells have been drilled.
In its Press
Release, the PUC explains that “[o]f those funds, $123,300,000 will be
distributed to county and municipal governments who are directly affected by
drilling. Also, $18 million will be distributed to state agencies that are
defined by the Act. The remaining $82,200,000 will be placed into the Marcellus
Legacy Fund, which was established under the law to fund environmental,
highway, water and sewer projects, rehabilitation of greenways and other
projects throughout the state.”
This information comes
at a time where the establishment
of a severance tax replacing the impact fee under Act 13 has been subject
to an extensive debate.
Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow
06/11/2015
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