Pennsylvania Impact Fee Disbursements for 2018 Reach All-time High

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has reported the 2018 impact fees total $251.8 million, the most raised since the fee was collected in 2012. This is an increase of $42 million from last year.

The number of wells paying the fee increased to 9,560, up 1,042 wells from last year.  Stripper wells, which were not included in past impact fees due to a legal dispute, are now required to pay the fee, following a December 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling. This accounted for $8.9 million of the total collected in 2018.

"Because of the unique circumstances surrounding this issue, and the potential financial impact on municipalities where the disputed wells were located, the commission felt it was important to thoroughly calculate the stripper well collections and allocate the corrected well distributions to the municipalities that did not receive those impact fees during the years the well status had been disputed," the PUC said in a statement.

Of the fees collected, 53.5% will go to the counties and municipalities involved in oil and gas development. Top counties receiving funds are Washington ($8.4M), Susquehanna ($7.2M), Bradford ($6.2M), Greene ($6.0M), and Lycoming ($4.2M).  Over 55% of the collected fees came from seven of the top producers (Range Resources Appalachia, LLC, EQT Production Co., Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, SWN Production Company, LLC., Repsol Oil & Gas USA, LLC, and Seneca Resources Corp.). Of the county fees, top funds usage include:  Capital reserve fund; Emergency preparedness/public safety; Public infrastructure construction; and environmental programs. Municipal funds were primarily used for:  Public infrastructure construction, Capital reserve fund; emergency preparedness/public safety; and social services.

Information on the county and municipal disbursements as well as other data may be found on the PA PUC's website.