Pennsylvania lawmakers agree on bill to impose a fee for gas drilling

HARRISBURG - A joint House-Senate committee agreed Monday night on a bill to impose an "impact fee" on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania, moving the long-debated fee a giant step closer to final passage.

The agreement - reached on the eve of Gov. Corbett's annual budget message - signaled a rough accord had been reached between Republicans who control the state Senate and their GOP counterparts in the House.

The conference committee voted, 4-2, on party lines Monday night to accept a bill that calls for a per-well fee tied to the average price of natural gas extracted in the lucrative Marcellus Shale formation.

"We've been working for two years to try to find something that balances creating jobs and protecting the environment," said Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson), a committee member. "This bill does it."

The Senate is expected to take up the bill just ahead of Corbett's Tuesday morning budget address. The House may vote on it by Tuesday night.

Negotiators project the total fees paid on all Marcellus wells at $180 million the first year, with more in the future as more wells are drilled.

State Rep. Mike Hanna (D., Centre), who represented House Democrats on the conference committee, called the proposal a loophole-filled "industry giveaway" that would not adequately protect the environment or provide enough money to address road damage and other local effects of drilling.

The 176-page bill, which also addresses myriad regulatory and zoning issues, is a result of weeks of talks between Corbett and fellow Republicans in both chambers.