Omnibus

Natural gas producers in Pennsylvania have paid most of the $202.7 million owed under the drilling impact fee enacted under Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said natural gas production in Pennsylvania increased 69% in 2012, despite a reduction in drilling activity.

Natural gas production from unconventional sources in Pennsylvania hit a record 2.04 Tcf in 2012, as the state’s Marcellus/Utica shale gas for the first time edged ahead of the granddaddy Barnett Shale in Texas.

Pennsylvania’s new auditor general, Eugene DePasquale, will conduct a performance audit of the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) water testing and waste disposal programs to assess their effectiveness in regulating shale gas development.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) voted unanimously on Thursday to clarify several portions of Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law, as to how it pertains to levying an unconventional natural gas drilling impact fee.

Following a few reporting snafus in its biannual oil and natural gas production report released in August, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has added a click-through disclaimer notice on the Marcellus Shale production section of its website noting that the agency “expressly disclaims any liability for errors or omissions related to the production data” contained within the reports.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) last week had taken down from its website a list of how impact fee revenue generated by Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law, was distributed to county and municipal governments.

One of the seven Pennsylvania municipalities that sued over the legality of Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law, is now considering changes to its local drilling ordinance to comply with the measure, a move intended to help it collect more than half a million dollars in impact fee revenue.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) last week had taken down from its website a list of how impact fee revenue generated by Act 13, the state’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law, was distributed to county and municipal governments.