Senate Committee Reported Out Bill To Deny Counties Drilling Impact Fee Revenue If Only 99% Of The Land In Their County Available For Shale Gas Leasing; Other Bills

On October 18, the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee reported out several bills, including legislation to deny counties Act 13 drilling impact fee revenue, if only 99% of the land in their county is available for shale gas drilling.

Senate Bill 1331 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) would deny counties revenue from the Act 13 drilling impact fee if they ban fracking on county-owned lands. 

This bill is in reaction to a ban Allegheny County enacted for its park land earlier this year which makes up less than 1 percent of the land area in the county.  But the big picture is this-- 99% of land remaining in the County could be leased for shale gas drilling, but that’s not enough, apparently.  Read more here.

Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester), Minority Chair of the Committee, said, “I will be voting no. Local leaders who want to protect their natural resources, park lands and communities from the potential dangers of fracking should be able to do so without being penalized. 

“Furthermore, I do not believe it's fair to withhold all of this funding simply because fracking is not permitted on certain lands, and in some cases these areas account for very small percentage of overall county land. 

“This seems like a heavy handed approach to what is essentially a local control issue.

“I want to note that while the natural gas industry appears to want all of this land opened up to fracking and drilling permits for unconventional wells expedited, data shows that many of the wells that are permitted aren't even drilled.”

Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), Majority Chair of the Committee, said in response to this and comments by Sen. Katie Muth (D-Montgomery), “This legislation has nothing to do with fracking.”

The vote on Senate Bill 1331 was eight to three with all Republicans and Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh) supporting and Senators Comitta (D-Chester); Katie Muth (D-Montgomery); and Steven Santarsiero (D-Bucks) voting no.

The bill is on the Senate Calendar for action.

Philadelphia LNG Study

The Committee considered House Bill 2458 (White-R-Philadelphia) to create a task force to study the “exportation” of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to supply the energy needs of allies around the world and what obstacles are currently preventing Philadelphia from becoming a leader in exporting LNG.  

Sen. Comitta (D-Chester) said, “I will be voting no on House Bill 2458. I think our time would be better spent on studying ways to invest in the clean energy economy and to incentivize renewables. 

“Our nation is already a leader in exporting liquified natural gas. Analysts say that the increase in LNG expert exports has led to higher prices at home, and made US consumers pay more for natural gas and electricity.

“I also want to point out that the transmission of LNGs through pipeline infrastructure has led to a number of significant and ongoing problems, most notably with the Mariner East Pipeline project in my home district of Chester County. 

“LNG transmission requires a pipeline infrastructure that raises public health and safety concerns, as well as environmental justice issues in our local communities.

“In addition, much needed hazardous liquids pipeline safety rules are currently before the PUC. Any study must also consider the need for stronger laws and rules related to the pipeline transport of LNGs in intrastate commerce.

“To simply consider the economic impacts is too one-sided. There are numerous public health, public safety, environmental justice, and other impacts on our communities that come with growing our LNG exports. 

“They also deserve equal consideration and study. Therefore, I ask for a no vote.”

The bill was reported out of Committee by a vote of nine to two with Republicans and Senators Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh) and Steven Santarsiero (D-Bucks) supporting and Senators Senators Comitta (D-Chester) and Katie Muth (D-Montgomery) opposing.

The bill was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.

Awarding Well Plugging Contracts Without Regard To Cost

The Committee also considered House Bill 2528 (Struzzi-R-Indiana) would mandate DEP award conventional oil and gas well plugging contracts to Pennsylvania contractors-- with no regard for cost to taxpayers.  

Sen. Comitta (D-Chester) offered this comment, “I will be voting no on House Bill 2528. I don't think this bill is necessary as most of these contracts are already going to Pennsylvania companies. 

“Almost all of DEP well plugging contracts in recent history and since September of 2017 are going to Pennsylvania companies. Of the well plugging contracts issued 32 of 34 contracts were to a Pennsylvania based company, that's 94.12%. 

“Of the 34 contracts, there were 14 unique contractors, 13 of which were Pennsylvania-based companies, that's 92.85%. 

“DEP has run 19 emergency plugging contracts, all 19 of those contracts were run by Pennsylvania-based companies, 100%. 

“DEP has run 15 standard well plug plugging contracts, of those 15, 13 were won by Pennsylvania based companies, or 86.67%.

“I am all for supporting Pennsylvania businesses and that already appears to be taking place. We are receiving federal funds to support well plugging, and those taxpayer dollars should be spent effectively and efficiently with Pennsylvania contractors. I ask for a no vote.”

Sen. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango) responded by saying, “I would agree that most well plugging contracts have been awarded to Pennsylvania companies, and that's because there is such a tiny, tiny number of wells being plugged in the last several years, there has been a scarcity of money available to do this. 

“We are now talking about tens of millions and possibly even hundreds of millions of [taxpayer] dollars coming from the federal government to plug wells. And with that, we are going to see an influx of large multinational corporations that want a piece of that money, and therefore they are going to come from all over the country and all over the world to try and get a piece of that pie.”

[Which implied-- “by possibly winning contracts with lower bids.”] 

“So I think it's incumbent upon us to say we have individuals, we have companies, we have small operators that also live in Pennsylvania. They should be given preference to be awarded these contracts.” 

The bill was reported out of Committee by a vote of nine to two with Republicans and Senators Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh) and Steven Santarsiero (D-Bucks) supporting and Senators Senators Comitta (D-Chester) and Katie Muth (D-Montgomery) opposing.

The bill is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

The other bills moving out of Committee included--

-- Protecting Military Installation Air Space From Wind Mills:  House Bill 2367 (Mako-R -Northampton) would limit the issuance of permits for construction of wind turbines that could negatively affect military air space. The vote to report the bill out of Committee was nine to two and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

-- House Republican Bills Attempting To Address Local Flooding by digging out stream channels and not through natural stream restoration techniques designed to prevent flooding and debris build up were considered by the Committee, including--

     -- House Bill 2404 (Owlett-R-Tioga): Would allow local government organizations to apply for a permit for continuing maintenance for a period of at least 10 years for the streams within their jurisdiction. This permit would grant an affirmative duty to the local government entity to properly maintain the streams and would not require the local government to get pre-approval for maintenance projects.  The bill was reported out by a vote of eight to three and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

     -- House Bill 2405 (Pickett-R-Bradford): Would create a program that allows counties to opt in to address hazards within their streams by allowing for emergency maintenance permits in consultation with their county conservation district. This is modeled after a pilot project that has proven successful in Bradford County [but only after a detailed evaluation of county streams].  The bill was amended and reported out of Committee by a vote of ten to one and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee..

     -- House Bill 2406 (Fritz-R-Susquehanna): Would create a permit specific to smaller maintenance projects for the mitigation of flood-related hazards of less than 250 linear feet. This permit would be reviewed and issued by the local county conservation district.   The bill was reported out of Committee by a vote of eight to three and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

     -- House Bill 2407 (Hamm-R-Lycoming): Would clarify that the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has no authority for permitting or enforcement related to stream clearing or maintenance activities. This authority shall belong solely to DEP and the county conservation districts as appropriate.  The bill was reported out of Committee by a vote of seven to four and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.