Plans to Address the Marcellus Shale

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A Marcellus shale rig located in
Roulette, Pennsylvania.
Earlier today Governor Corbett announced details of his plan for addressing the costs and environmental impact of the natural gas drill in the Marcellus Shale. The governor’s proposal calls for a fee to be placed on each well and establishes environmental standards and enforcement.

Counties would be permitted to set an impact fee of no more than $40,000 per well in a well's first year. The plan estimates these fees would generate $120 million in the first full year, and $195 million by the sixth year.
Most of the money would remain in drilling communities, while 25 percent would go to the state for environmental protection, health, emergency management, and pipeline inspection.

In addition to the Governor’s proposal, State Representatives Thomas Murt and Gene DiGirolamo also plan to introduce a natural gas drilling tax bill.

Their bill would dedicate 29% of revenue to local government impacts and 27% to statewide environmental programs. The remaining 44% would support shared statewide priorities, including Accountability Block Grants that support pre-kindergarten and early childhood education, human services such as support for people with disabilities and victims of domestic violence, and investments in work training.

What plan do you think will be best for Pennsylvania and the communities impacted by the drilling?

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