Officials ‘ecstatic’ over Act 13 impact fee money
WAYNESBURG – The historic decrease in the amount of Act 13 natural gas drilling impact fee money distributed to communities across the state won’t have much of an impact on Greene County this year.
Both county and municipal officials feared the funding cuts would actually be much more severe, making the distribution figures released Wednesday afternoon by the state Public Utility Commission a welcome surprise.
“I am ecstatic,” county Board of Commissioners Chairman Blair Zimmerman said. “From everything we heard, I thought it would be another million less.”
The county will receive about $3.9 million in impact fee money this year compared to the $4.6 million in 2015. Zimmerman and other officials braced for bad news as the number of new wells being drilled in the area declined over the past year.
“I really can’t give you an answer,” Zimmerman said. “I don’t know if it’s because they’re the more productive wells. I really can’t explain it.”
The amount of money distributed across the state dropped by 16 percent to $187.7 million, which is the lowest number in the program’s five-year history. At no time in the previous four years has the total allotment been less than $200 million, according to the PUC.
However, four of the top seven municipalities receiving impact fee money in the state this year are located in Greene County.
Morris Township is the municipality that will receive the most money in the state this year with $847,828. The other top communities in this county are Cumberland Township with $711,976, Center Township with $677,343 and Morgan Township, which will receive $635,460. Franklin and Washington townships each are slated to receive $518,200.
The allotment for Cumberland, which received the most money in the state last year, is down 22.5 percent, making it one of the sharpest decreases in the county. That didn’t matter to township Supervisor Bill Groves, who had expressed concerns in recent months about how much money the township might lose in this next round of disbursements.
“We knew it was going to be down,” Groves said. “To get $711,000, we’re quite happy. We’re really happy.”
The supervisors had estimated the township would receive only $375,000 while assembling the 2016 budget, although that figure was admittedly conservative. He said trying to form a budget in December seven months before the actual impact fee figure is released makes it difficult to plan.
“It isn’t as bad for us as we were thinking, but we’ll still have to be very conservative with it,” Groves said. “This is going to be like this every year.”
The PUC’s report on the impact fee disbursements can be viewed online at www.act13-reporting.puc.pa.gov.
Morris Township – $847,828, down 2 percent from 2015.
Cumberland Township – $711,976, down 22.5 percent from 2015.
Center Township – $677,343, up 15 percent from 2015.
Morgan Township – $635,460, down 14 percent from 2015
Franklin Township – $518,200, down 24 percent from 2015.
Washington Township – $518,200, same amount as 2015.