PA Impact Fees
Pennsylvania counties may soon be imposing impact fees according to this report from CBS News: "After Gov. Tom Corbett signs a bill passed by state lawmakers this week, county commissioners or county council members in about 35 counties will have 60 days to decide whether to impose the 15-year impact fee on their local Marcellus Shale wells. *** If they do, they'll share 60 percent of the money with their municipalities after a cut goes to state agencies and a program to help buy natural gas-powered fleet vehicles. That could mean more than $10 million flowing later this year to each of Pennsylvania's most heavily drilled counties, including Bradford, Tioga, Washington, Lycoming, Susquehanna and Greene."
Not everyone thinks it's necessary, however: "Doug McLinko, the Republican commissioners' chairman in Bradford County, home to the most Marcellus Shale wells of any county, said he didn't like slapping the industry with a tax while natural gas prices are hovering around 10-year lows. *** McLinko said no one has shown him an impact that the industry hasn't addressed, while it's poured $400 million into new roads in the area and given charitably to community causes."
