Drilling Group Says Impact Fee "Will Affect Decisions Made Into The Future"

Scott Detrow

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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.

February 9, 2012 | 4:17 PM

The Marcellus Shale Coalition pushed hard for the local zoning restrictions contained in Pennsylvania’s soon-to-be-signed impact fee. But along with praise for the legislation, the group’s statement includes a warning: “Without question, [the new per-well fee] will further increase costs, in terms of both time and resources, at a time of historically-low natural gas prices, which will affect decisions made into the future.”
Decisions, of course, meaning where companies decide to drill for gas.
How much will the fee cost drillers? Check out our county-by-county fee breakdown to find out.
Here’s the Marcellus Shale Coalition’s full statement:

“The Marcellus Shale Coalition has steadfastly advocated for a modernized oil and natural gas regulatory framework to further protect the Commonwealth’s environment while encouraging the safe development of abundant and clean American natural gas. This legislation builds upon, and further strengthens, the collaborative efforts undertaken over the past several years, ensuring that Pennsylvania has industry-leading, world-class shale gas regulations on its books.
“The legislation, while not perfect, provides the industry greater certainty to operate across Pennsylvania and takes a balanced approach to further strengthening the Commonwealth’s forward-leaning health, environmental, and safety regulations, incorporating many of the recommendations of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission – a broad-based group of interests across industry, government, and the conservation community. Without question, it will further increase costs, in terms of both time and resources, at a time of historically-low natural gas prices, which will affect decisions made into the future.
“With resolution and greater certainty at hand, it is time to build a stronger Pennsylvania and power our region with clean, American natural gas.”