API-PA: Largest Ever Impact Tax Collections and Disbursements From Natural Gas Producers Benefit Communities Across State

Harrisburg, Pa., June 27, 2019 – API-PA Executive Director Stephanie Catarino Wissman welcomed today’s report by the Public Utility Commission showing community and municipal disbursements and revenues received through the taxation of Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry have grown to the largest-ever annual revenue generated, nearly $252 million in 2018, the most recent data year.

“Natural gas development supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and provides financial support for environmental projects, infrastructure, conservation and other projects throughout the state,” said Wissman. “Responsible natural gas development has been good for the state economy, good for local economies and good for Pennsylvanians. We want to keep it that way. As the number of wells paying the impact tax rises, so has our contribution to the economy and state projects that enhance the quality of life in communities across Pennsylvania. In the past year, the Commonwealth received over $33 million more in impact tax revenue than in 2017.

“Today’s report makes it clear, rather than rerun the same counterproductive ideas that enact additional taxes and risk losing revenues reported today, we should support legislative policies that balance what is working to support the commonwealth and build on Pennsylvania’s successes.”

Since 2012, Pennsylvania has generated close to   $1.7 billion in new revenues from the existing impact tax, driven primarily by an increase in the number of Pennsylvania wells paying impact taxes for this year (9,560 compared to 8,518 last year), according to the latest data released by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC):

The collected revenues are distributed like this:

• $134,740,050 for the 2018 reporting year will be distributed among county and municipal governments directly affected by drilling
• $89,826,700 will be transferred to the Marcellus Legacy Fund, providing financial support for environmental, highway, water and sewer projects, rehabilitation of greenways and other projects throughout the state
• $18,397,250 will be distributed to state agencies, as specified by Act 13

The full report is available on the PUC’s Act 13 website here.

API-PA is a division of API, which represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry. Our more than 600 members produce, process and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In our first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

###