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Politics & Government

Marcellus Shale Drilling Tax Takes Center Stage

The issue of collecting fees from companies that drill in the state was the reason for a breakfast meeting in Hatboro.

State government representatives and advocates for a Marcellus Shale drilling tax hosted a breakfast meeting Monday at in Hatboro.

The meeting was one of four state-wide, hosted by Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture), to discuss the impacts of Marcellus Shale drilling and why they believe drillers should be levied with higher taxes.

Marcellus Shale is a type of rock that runs under the state and contains large pockets of untapped natural gas. In Pennsylvania, politicians and environmentalists alike have debated whether or not drillers should pay more in taxes. 

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“They need to play by the rules and pay their fair share,” said Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of PennFuture.

The message shared by PennFuture and state representatives, Tom Murt (R -152), Josh Shapiro (D-153),  and Marguerite Quinn (R-143), was that the more than 80 companies that drill in the state should fairly share the cost the operations have on taxpayers.

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“Our Commonwealth has an enormous advantage," Murt told the crowd when speaking about how the drilling could create new jobs and increase state revenues.

Shapiro said, “The cost associated with Marcellus Shale drilling should not be on the backs of hard-working individuals, but on the backs of the drillers.”

The legislation that Shapiro supports adds an additional tax to companies that operate drill sites in the state. The money received from the tax would be divided to help the general state budget, aid local governments and state agencies that are affected by the drilling and support environmental stewardship.

Quinn has a different solution to the problem and has introduced the Shale Impact Mitigation Policy for Local, Environment and Roads (SIMPLER) legislation.

Her bill charges an impact fee, rather than a yearly tax. A portion of money raised would go into helping fund roads, public safety and local water systems. Other amounts of money received from the fee would go toward funding state infrastructure projects, a clean-up mitigation fund, environmental protection fund, and to the Conservation District fund.

Quinn said she thinks her approach is the most realistic.

The long-term environmental impacts of "fracking” were discussed by Monday's speakers. Fracking is a method of releasing natural gas from underground rock. It has been criticized by some as being unsafe for drinking water.

All agreed that protecting the environment was important and that stricter regulations were needed to ensure that drillers are following the rules.

The different bills that are making their way around the capital in Harrisburg support the Growing Greener program, a state-funded organization that provides grants and supports programs that protect undeveloped land and clean local streams and rivers.

Also discussed at the breakfast was the impact on the funding of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. The commission is funded by taxpayers, but in recent years has had to devote large amounts of resources to approving sites for drilling.

Tim Schaeffer from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission talked about how a fee or tax would help pay for the additional resources the agency needs to handle Marcellus Shale related issues.

John Snyder, a 28-year resident of Hatboro, came out to the meeting to get more information on possible fees. He owns land in the northern part of the state and is leasing the rights to natural gas under his property to a drilling company.

While the drillers do contribute to the tax stream, he said ones like those the speakers talked of are okay with him.

With the state budget season approaching the issue of drilling is heating up.

“No issue is more important right now,” Shapiro told the audience.

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