Corbett's Impact Fee May Not Generate Money Until 2013

Scott Detrow

Recent Stories

Scott Detrow is a congressional correspondent for NPR. He also co-hosts the NPR Politics Podcast.

Detrow joined NPR in 2015 to cover the presidential election. He focused on the Republican side of the 2016 race, spending time on the campaign trail with Donald Trump, and also reported on the election's technology and data angles.

Detrow worked as a statehouse reporter for member stations WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and KQED in San Francisco, California. He has also covered energy policy for NPR's StateImpact project, where his reports on Pennsylvania's hydraulic fracturing boom won a DuPont-Columbia and national Edward R. Murrow Award in 2013.

October 13, 2011 | 12:00 PM

Scott Detrow / StateImpact Pennsylvania

Corbett's energy executive, Patrick Henderson

Well, this could throw a wrinkle in things….
An article in today’s Post-Gazette points out Governor Corbett’s proposed natural gas drilling impact fee may not generate any revenue until 2013.

Under the current version of the plan, they would have to pass their fee-related rules by March 1 in order to collect money next year.
With legislation still being negotiated, that gives little time for counties to enact their ordinances.
Unless that spring collection date is changed, counties might not be able to receive shale fee revenues until 2013.
“Obviously [the] timing of passage of legislation and accompanying ordinances affect this,” [Corbett’s energy executive, Patrick] Henderson said.
That timeline could potentially require local officials seeking additional funds to wait another year for new revenue, compared to current plans from Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati and others that would begin distributing dollars early next year.

Want to know how much money your county would receive, under Corbett’s plan? Check out StateImpact’s interactive map.