More than $814,000 in Impact Fee Revenue to Benefit Local Counties, Municipalities

Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion/Armstrong/Forest) announced that more than $814,000 in impact fee revenue will benefit communities within the 63rd District.

The impact fee revenue is designed to help local governments address impacts caused by drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shales.

“This impact fee revenue is a much-needed boost to many of our local municipalities which already operate on shoestring budgets,” said Oberlander, chairman of the House Gas and Oil Caucus. “The revenue generated by the impact fees are paid by gas companies and not landowners, and that money stays local. Since the impact fee has been collected over the past four years, this revenue has already been used to repair or improve roads, fix up a municipal garage or protect our watershed.”

Locally, the Armstrong County portion of the 63^rd Legislative District, affected municipalities will share $146,615, with the county to receive $380,747. In addition, $69,234 will benefit Forest County and $27,534 distributed to Barnett and Jenks townships.

The impact fee schedule, along with a set of strict environmental protections, are outlined in Act 13 of 2012, which authorized counties to impose fees on wells in both the Marcellus and Utica shales. The fees are based on the retail price of natural gas and on the age of the well.

At the state level, the impact fee revenue is directed to conservation districts; the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for administration of the act and enforcement of clean air and water statutes; the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) for emergency response planning, training and coordination related to natural gas production from unconventional wells; and to the Office of the State Fire Commissioner for the development, delivery and sustainment of training and grant programs for first responders.

In total, $105 million in impact fees were collected, and over the course of the past five years, impact fee revenue has topped $1 billion.

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