Ian Harlow, DEP Deputy for Administration, said the state budget Fiscal Code bill-- Senate Bill 146 (page 181)-- authorized the transfer of more than $19 million to pay the administrative costs of the Oil and Gas Program.
But, Harlow said the budget directs the money would have to come from one of nine DEP programs listed in the bill, not from the General Fund like happened in other years.
[Note: Revenue from oil and gas permit application fees-- which support the administrative costs of the Oil and Gas Program-- have been woefully inadequate the last three years to support permitting and enforcement costs due to the continuing slowdown of the shale gas and conventional oil and gas industry.
[In the FY 2025-2026 budget, DEP received $15 million in General Fund money and in FY 2024-2025 received another $5 million in General Fund money to pay enforcement and permitting staff and program costs.]
Harlow said DEP tentative plans to pull about $14 million from these programs--
-- $5 million from the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Fund
-- $3 million from the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Fund
-- $1.5 million from the Industrial Land Recycling Fund
-- $1.5 million from Solid Waste Abatement Fund
-- $500,000 from the Dams And Encroachment Fund
-- $500,000 from the Waste Haulers Transportation Security Account
-- $500,000 from the Used Tire Pile Remediation Account
Harlow said-- “What we want to do is do it [pull funds from the other accounts] incrementally so we're not pulling more than we need at that moment in time.”
“We are also going to work with the Governor's Budget Office should we find ourselves in a situation where we need to pull some additional funds, where a project or something comes up that we weren't anticipating, in particular with the coal waste, for example.”
Visit the DEP Citizens Advisory Council webpage for more information and available handouts. Questions should be directed to Ian Irvin, Executive Director, by sending email to: iirvin@pa.gov or call 717-579-0329.
Resource Link:
-- Budget First Look: At Best A Cost-To-Carry Environmental Budget, Supports Oil & Gas Program Operations, Minor Data Center Provisions But No Moratorium Or Pause, Sales Tax Exemption For Data Centers Stays [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP - Day 1,331: Big Dog Energy LLC Shale Gas Well Pad Lacks Secondary Containment To Contain Spills, Has No Emergency Response Plan In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- DEP - Day 2,447: American Natural Resources LLC Fails To Comply, Does Not Respond To Order To Plug 6 Conventional Wells It Abandoned In Allegheny County [PaEN]
-- DEP - Day 221: HR McClure Fails To Plug 3 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells It Abandoned In Greene County; Failing To Submit Production, Waste, Well Integrity Reports For 5 Years [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: NextEra Energy Picks 700 Acre Site In Luzerne Twp., Fayette County For 3.75 GW Natural Gas Data Center Power Plant Complex [Entire Township Over Known Mined Out Coal Mines Subject To Subsidence Risk (DEP)]
-- PennLive/Tribune News: Massive 7,200 Acre PPL Utilities Joint Venture Land Deal In Lackawanna County Paves Way For More Natural Gas Data Center Power Plants
-- Scranton Times: PPL Utilities Joint Venture Purchases 500 Acres In Luzerne County For 2 Natural Gas Data Center Power Plants; No Agreements Signed With Customers Yet [Not For The Public]
-- Financial Times: The Missing Piece Of The US Oil And Gas Boom - Jobs; Production And Profits Are Rising Strongly, Employment Has Fallen
[Posted: September 2, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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