Written by Chloe
Marie – Research Specialist
Earlier this year,
on June 28, 2019, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Senate Bill No. 712 – also known as Act 20 – amending Pennsylvania’s
Fiscal Code as part of the annual budget process. This annual Fiscal Code legislation often
contains provisions addressing a variety of topics. This year, one of these legislative provisions
will serve to further expand the Pipeline Investment Program (PIPE). PIPE is a
grant program launched on the initiative of Governor Wolf in November 2016 with
the purpose of connecting additional households and businesses in Pennsylvania
to the piped natural gas network.
Economic
development organizations, businesses, municipalities, hospitals, and school
districts are eligible to apply for funding, and the grants these entities may
receive from PIPE can be used to “cover acquisition, construction, and site
preparation costs associated with extending natural gas pipelines to serve
eligible applicants.” Though
Pennsylvania residents are not eligible applicants to the program, “projects
that include residential areas as a beneficiary receive increased attention.”
The program guidelines also clarify that the “maximum grant amount of any Pipeline Investment
Program project shall not exceed $1 million or 50% of the total project costs,
whichever is less.”
Under the new
legislation, PIPE has been expanded to include large residential conversion
projects with greater than 100 parcels and combined heat and power applications,
and the maximum amount of grant has been increased from $1,000,000 to
$1,500,000. In addition, the legislation provides that, besides the maximum
amount of $1,500,000, a further $500,000 may be granted for costs related to
the tapping of upstream facilities. The legislature also directs the
Commonwealth Financing Authority within the Pennsylvania Department of
Community & Economic Development to “develop streamlined guidelines for submitting
applications for grants issued in the amount of $75,000 or less to expedite the
process.” The new legislation became effective on July 1, 2019.
According to
Pennsylvania Representative Jonathan Fritz, one of the sponsors of the expansion
of PIPE (originally introduced through House Bill 1103), “By expanding the PIPE
grant program and completing the natural gas distribution lines, more jobs will
be created, more money will be pumped back into our economy, and manufacturers,
businesses and local residents will have equal access to low cost,
clean-burning natural gas.”
Resources:
This material is based upon work supported by the National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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