PUC: Act 13 Per Well Drilling Impact Fee To Increase For Calendar Year 2022 Nearly 28% For Unconventional Shale Gas Wells

The Public Utility Commission published notice in the January 28 PA Bulletin that the Calendar Year 2022 Act 13 per well drilling impact fee will increase nearly 28 percent for unconventional shale gas wells.

The formula for the Act 13 fee is established in law and is based in part on the price of natural gas and the consumer price index.

The price of natural gas increased from $3.841 in calendar year 2021 to $6.644 in calendar year 2022.

The consumer price index went down from 6.6 percent in 2021 to 6.4 percent in 2022.

As a result of these changes, the calendar year 2022 Act 13 fees will be--

Year of Well Horizontal    Vertical—Producing

Year 1               $69,100             $13,800

Year 2               $63,200             $12,600

Year 3               $57,500             $11,500

Year 4—10   $23,000             $4,600

Year 11—15   $11,600                N/A

In calendar year 2021, the fees were--

Year of Well  Horizontal  Vertical—Producing

Year 1             $54,000              $10,800

Year 2             $43,200              $8,600

Year 3             $32,400     $6,500

Year 4—10 $21,600               $4,300

Visit the PUC's Act 13 Impact Fee for more information.

PA DEP Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Jan. 14  to 20  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - Jan. 21  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Compliance Reports:

-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Record Year: Cost, Criminal Convictions Up; $3.1 Million In Penalties Collected; Record Number Of Violations Issued; Major Compliance Issues Uncovered; Evidence Of Health Impacts Mounts

-- DEP Report Finds: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Routinely Abandon Wells; Fail To Report How Millions Of Gallons Of Waste Is Disposed; And Non-Compliance Is An ‘Acceptable Norm’

NewsClips This Week:

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Abandoned Thousands Of Natural Gas Wells Over 5 Years, Ignored State Law, DEP Report Says 

-- Center For Coalfield Justice Blog: DEP Reports Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Has A Culture Of Noncompliance Not Likely To Change Soon, More Resources, Updated Regulations Needed

-- Environmental Health News: What Happens If The Largest Owner Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In The U.S. [Diversified Energy]  Goes Bankrupt? 

Related Articles This Week:

-- House Republicans Name Advocate For Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Rep. Martin Causer Chair Of House Environmental Committee  [PaEN]

-- DCED’s Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Advisory Council Meets Feb. 16  [PaEN]

-- Natural Gas Industry, Senate Republicans Launch Effort To Unleash The Industry, Reduce Regulation, Call For Automatic Approval Of Permits, Limit Public Comments  [PaEN] 

-- Damascus Citizens For Sustainability Files Lawsuit Challenging The Delaware River Basin Commission Fracking Wastewater Rule Generally And For Allowing Road Dumping Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Creating Widespread Pollution  [PaEN]

-- FracTracker Alliance Seeking Information On Use Of Drones For Environmental Monitoring Work; Feb. 3 Online Meeting Set On Oil & Gas Facility Monitoring Project  [PaEN]

-- Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community  Feb. 1 Monthly Eyes On Shell Meeting. 7:30 p.m.

[Posted: January 27, 2023]  PA Environment Digest