Pennsylvania gas drilling fee revenue falls for third year

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s counties and municipal governments will see another drop in the annual fee revenue they get from Marcellus Shale gas wells.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said today that impact fee revenue from Marcellus Shale wells dropped by almost $15 million to about $173 million.

That’s the lowest annual payment in the six-year history of the impact fee, and the third year of decline.

The utility commission says the fee revenue is declining because of a persistent slump in natural-gas prices and the increasing age of many of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale wells.

Most of the money, about $93 million, goes to county and municipal governments, while smaller amounts are earmarked for environmental-improvement programs, roadway repairs and water and sewer infrastructure upgrades.