PUC Distributes A Record $278.8 Million In Act 13 Shale Gas Drilling Impact Fee Revenue; Conventional Oil/Gas Operators Do Not Pay These Fees

On June 20, the Public Utility Commission announced the distribution of a record $278,881,450 in Act 13 Shale Gas Drilling Impact Fee revenue to local governments and a variety of state programs.

Conventional oil and gas operators do not pay these fees or any fees other than minimal permit review fees.

County and municipal governments directly affected by drilling will receive a total of $157,349,593 for the 2022 reporting year. 

The counties receiving the most Act 13 impact fee revenue are Washington, Susquehanna, Bradford, Greene, Lycoming, Tioga and Butler.

$103,641,907 will be transferred to the Marcellus Legacy Fund, which provides financial support for environmental, highway, water and sewer projects, rehabilitation of greenways and other projects throughout the state. 

$17,889,950 will be distributed to state agencies, as specified by Act 13.

With this year’s distribution, the PUC has collected and distributed over $2.5 billion to Pennsylvania communities.

The PUC has forwarded the information to the Department of Treasury and expects payments to be distributed in early July.

This year’s distribution is over $44 million higher than last year, driven primarily by the average price of natural gas in 2022 ($6.64 per MMBtu) versus the average price in 2021 ($3.84 per MMBtu) which generated a higher impact fee payment for each well in 2022 – along with the addition of 574 new wells during 2022.

The distributions for individual municipalities are detailed on the PUC’s Act 13 webpage.

Details regarding the impact fee distribution are available online, including specifics on funds collected and distributed for each year since 2011. 

Visitors can search and download statistics such as distributions to individual municipalities or counties; allocation and usage of those funds, based on reports submitted by various municipalities; eligible wells per county/municipality; and payments by producers.

Visit the PUC's Act 13 webpage for more information.

PA Oil & Gas Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - June 17 to 23 - Federal Well Plugging Project & Dimock Area Shale Gas Well Inspections; Leaking Plugged Conventional Wells; Frack Out Investigation  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - June 24  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posts 47 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 24 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]   

NewsClips This Week:

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Punxsutawney Phil Getting A New Neighbor - Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well

-- TribLive: Grant Twp., Indiana County Community’s Fight To Stop An Oil & Gas Waste Injection Well

-- TribLive: Murrysville, Plum Officials Deal With Oil & Gas Waste Injection Well Issues In Allegheny County 

-- WTAE: Washington County Homeowner Takes On Gas Drilling Companies In Court 

-- KDKA: Washington County Family Takes 2 Gas Companies To Court Over Fracking Health Concerns 

-- WTAE: 6 Leaking Abandoned Conventional Wells In Hanover Twp., Washington County Contaminated Water Supply, Releasing Natural Gas In And Next To Hillman State Park  

Related Articles This Week:

-- 3 Days That Shook Washington County: Natural Gas Plant Explosion; Pipeline Leak Of 1.1 Million Cubic Feet Of Gas; 10,000 Gallon Spill At Compressor Station  [PaEN]

-- Senate Committee Meets June 26 To Consider Nomination Of Richard Negrin As DEP Secretary; Energy Information Office, Electric Billing Legislation  [PaEN] 

-- House Republicans, Democrats Introduce Legislation To Prevent The Court System From Being Used By Powerful Interests To Silence Citizen Critics  [PaEN] 

-- House Environmental Committee Holds June 27 Meeting On Bills Increasing Setback Distances From Natural Gas Infrastructure, 2-Year Moratorium On Cryptocurrency Air Permits  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves Water Withdrawal Projects, Including 12 Related To Shale Natural Gas Drilling  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves 32 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use Permits In Bradford, Clearfield, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wyoming Counties  [PaEN] 

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Advises Water Withdrawal Permit Holders To Review Low Flow Water Restrictions And Begin Planning For Alternative Operations  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Finds PA General Energy Installed Its Shawnee Water Withdrawal On The Exceptional Value Loyalsock Creek At Sizes Larger Than Authorized By Its SRBC, DEP Permits  [PaEN] 

-- Senate Republicans Pass Bill To Significantly Narrow The Grounds For Appealing DEP Environmental Permit Actions  [PaEN]

-- Senate Environmental Committee Reports Out Bills Letting Polluters Decide When To Report Spills And CO2 Injection Well Primacy By Party-Line Votes  [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Hold July 25 Hearing On Proposed Roulette Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Potter County  [PaEN] 

-- EPA Issues Permit For Class IID Oil & Gas Waste Underground Injection Well In Jefferson County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts Solicitation For Bids To Plug 23 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Waste Injection Wells Owned By ARG Resources, Inc. And Pennzoil Company In Elk County    [PaEN]

-- PUC Distributes A Record $278.8 Million In Act 13 Shale Gas Drilling Impact Fee Revenue; Conventional Oil/Gas Operators Do Not Pay These Fees  [PaEN]

[Posted: June 20, 2023]  PA Environment Digest