The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) will distribute a total of $251,830,900 in impact fees this year.
The PUC posted detailed information about the distribution of $242,964,000 in impact fees on natural gas producers on its Act 13 website. Another $8,866,900 will also be distributed to municipalities and counties where producer payments were withheld during a long-running court case concerning the definition of a stripper well.
County and municipal governments will receive a total of $134,740,050 for the 2018 reporting year. $89,826,700 will be transferred to the Marcellus Legacy Fund, which provides support for environmental, highway, water and sewer projects, rehabilitation of greenways and other projects. Additionally, $18,397,250 will be distributed to state agencies, as specified by Act 13.
The PUC forwarded the information to the Department of Treasury for payment and anticipates that checks will be distributed in early July.
This year’s distribution is approximately $33.4 million higher than that of last year, due primarily to an increase in the number of Pennsylvania wells paying impact fees.
Over the past eight years, the PUC has collected and distributed approximately $1.7 billion in impact fees.