Pa. counties seek to keep impact fee from shale wells

HARRISBURG (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf says he's willing to sign legislation that raises fees on telephone users to help pay for county emergency management systems, the top priority of an organization of Pennsylvania's county commissioners.

However, the answer Wolf gave Monday to a question about fees from Marcellus Shale natural gas wells at the organization's spring conference in Harrisburg doesn't line up with their priorities.

Wolf wants to replace the three-year-old impact fee with a $225 million annual payment that goes to the same recipients, primarily governments where wells are hosted.

It would no longer rise and fall with the number of wells drilled and the price of natural gas.

However, Doug Hill of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania says the organization wants the fee to continue to float.

See related Courier story, "Impact fees may be in peril": http://bit.ly/10WLSvM