Better late than never, Peters receives state gas impact fees
Peters Township council will hold a hearing later in July to amend its current operating budget, a move made necessary by the budget impasse in Harrisburg.
The reason for the hearing is the receipt of gas impact fees from the state totaling $346,762. The allocation was delayed because state lawmakers were unable to come to an agreement on the 2015-16 budget in time for the township to add the revenue to its $20.626 million operating budget.
“We anticipated it but did not budget for it as at the time, since the state had not adopted a budget and we weren’t sure those funds would be there,” Michael Silvestri, township manager, said. “So this was not a surprise.”
Despite not having any gas wells, Peters received more than $300,000 in impact fees from state Act 13, which was signed into law in 2012 by former Gov. Tom Corbett.
Act 13 allows the state to collect fees from unconventional gas wells, including those that produce by hydraulic fracture, and then to distribute to state and local entities affected by drilling.
In Peters Township’s case, the amount it receives is based on population and the number of wells in or near the township. Peters, which currently does not have gas wells, has more than 20,000 residents and is the most-populated township in Washington County.
The gas impact fee money will be used for the township’s paving program and will reduce the amount the township was planning to spend from its surplus funds, Silvestri said. Peters is expected to spend $1.55 million on road paving in 2016.