Pennsylvania's Decision to Allow Home Rule Could Mean End of Impact Fees

We directed attention last month to the decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to set aside a section of the state's Act 13 reform package which gave the state control over permitting, allowing local municipalities to hinder drilling activities in their area.  While the slowing of drilling activity that this will cause could be easily anticipated, the further impact could be felt by communities that have benefited from the drilling impact fees outlined in Act 13.

From Triblive.com:

The reform package known as Act 13 put a yearly fee of $5,000 to $60,000 on every deep gas well in Pennsylvania. The court did not consider that part of the law, but it won't go unaddressed. Because the Supreme Court threw out some parts of the law, it ordered a lower appeals court to reconsider whether the rest of it, including the impact fee, can legally stand.

It isn't likely, though it's possible, that the court will throw it all out, legal experts said.

“I'd be upset, yeah,” Montgomery said about the chance that Amwell in Washington County might lose money it's using for sewers and roads. “It was a godsend. But we kind of figured sooner or later something was going to happen.”

You can read the whole article here.

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