Pa. impact fee revenue expected to see increases
Monday, January 28, 2019
The Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office projects natural gas impact fee collections for 2018 will exceed those from 2017 by $37.4 million, according to Trib Total Media.
The agency projects collections on impact fees to total $247 million in 2018. If the projection rings true, it will be the largest annual amount generated, surpassing the 2013 total by $22 million.
The impact fee is the annual fee that the state applies to each new unconventional well drilled into the Marcellus shale. Some of the money is distributed directly to counties to offset the costs of increased drilling activity. Some is made available to individual communities in the form of grants.
Learn more: Trib Total Media > Natural gas impact fee revenue expected to be up this year, agency says
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Shale FAQ
What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
Is it safe?
What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
Will my water catch on fire?
Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.