Legislators Call Marcellus Shale Fees "Inevitable"

State legislators from this area think that some sort of fee on natural gas drilling is “inevitable” despite Gov. Tom Corbett’s demands that Marcellus Shale production not be taxed.

Although the amount and terminology is up for debate, the state senators and representatives from this area all agree that it’s only a matter of time before the natural gas industry starts making payments for drilling.

Republicans control both the state House and Senate, meaning they ultimately will drive debate on the issue. But , R-Moon, said many in his caucus are softening to the idea of a local impact fee and might be able to persuade Corbett.

“I think it is inevitable there will be some sort of fee or tax,” Mustio said. “Where it’s sent, I’m not sure. But there is strong support for keeping it to the local municipalities or counties.”

He was adamant that the money be used by the communities where drilling occurs to pay for damage to infrastructure and compensate for the work done by emergency responders.

“I’m not interested in sending more money to Harrisburg to feed that beast,” Mustio said.

, said the governor campaigned against an extraction tax, but deep cuts to education in the budget proposal may force Corbett to make other concessions. Fontana said the key is generating revenue to pay for environmental regulators to monitor well sites and potential water contamination.

“Without a doubt, this is the issue that the public is most aware about,” Fontana said. “There are environmental issues, and people are becoming more and more aware of that every day. The most important thing is to make sure the water we drink is OK, and I have some concerns about that.”

Fontana doubts Republicans would support a fee if it was used to offset cuts elsewhere.

However, , said he is “whole-heartedly in favor of a reasonable severance tax” to offset budget cuts to education and other areas. He added that a local impact fee would be inadequate because it would not help environmental regulators or grow green energy in the state.

“It doesn’t go far enough. I understand that it needs to be kept local, but a lot of it needs to go to environmental funds,” Smith said. “It’s all about striking the right balance. Part of it needs to go to environmental oversight.”

, said that idea would not go very far in the current political climate. He noted that former Gov. Ed Rendell tried pushing a severance tax to help fill a budget gap last year, only for the plan to stall in the Republican-controlled Senate.  

“Ultimately, it has to pass muster with this governor, I don’t think he will go for anything other than impact fees,” Kotik said.

, thinks an impact fee would be feasible to ensure the effects of drilling do not place a burden on local municipalities. He also suggested putting money generated from the fees into a “restricted account” that could only be touched by local communities and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

“Like every other (industry), the regulations and fees should cover the costs to the community,” Pippy said. “But I also think we don’t need to be in a scenario that we’re a state where it’s such a high-cost.”