Butler County will receive more money from natural gas drilling this year than the year prior.
According to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the county will receive $2.1 million in gas drilling impact fees that were collected from the 2017 year. In 2016, the county received $1.6 million.
Butler is the seventh highest receiving county in the state for the 2017 year. There are 547 wells in Butler County, according to PUC data.
Each township, borough and municipality receives their own allotment. A breakdown is available here.
Statewide, $209 million was generated last year, which is a 21 percent increase over 2016.
“The impact fee has operated as it was intended, and that has been to ensure that municipalities and counties directly affected by deep well drilling would be compensated,” State Rep. Tedd Nesbit said in a statement. “A large chunk of that impact fee money goes right back to the communities where drilling is taking place. Not only do the fees help repair roads and bridges damaged by heavy wear and tear, but they also assist with emergency response, human service needs and a variety of other uses.”
There are restrictions on how municipalities use the money. It’s meant to be spent on infrastructure projects and to assist with human service and emergency response needs.
PUC officials pointed to an increase in the number of wells, as well as in the average annual price of natural gas, among the factors in boosting impact fees.
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Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche says the increased funding the county will receive this year from the natural gas drilling impact fees, also known as Act 13 fees, will go a long way.
“This just really confirms how important Act 13 is to the communities,” Osche said Friday. “We’ve been long-advocating at the state level to maintain these impact fees because it helps vastly with infrastructure projects.”
The money is earmarked, meaning it can only be spent on certain things- like water, sewer and road projects; emergency services needs and capital projects.
“As we look to next year’s budget, particularity with the election equipment issue looming, we know this money will be helpful,” she said.
Osche also noted that the additional funding the county will receive this year shows that the natural gas industry is still going strong here in Butler County.
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