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Pa. gas-drilling bill would yield estimated $190M

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s booming natural gas industry would pay an estimated $190 million in fees in the first year, money spread across drilling communities and to state infrastructure and environmental programs, under legislation speeding toward votes today in the state Legislature.

The 15-year fee would be paid by all Marcellus Shale wells, and the total amount would rise in ensuing years as more wells are drilled, said key people involved in the negotiations.

In addition, the bill would set aside a small share of the fee revenue to potentially assist the development of a massive petrochemical refinery in southwestern Pennsylvania or the reuse of three Philadelphia-area oil refineries that are shutting down.

The proposal is a result of talks between leaders of the Republican-controlled state Legislature and Gov. Tom Corbett, a fellow Republican. It has not been put into a formal bill yet, but Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said it could get a Senate vote as early as tonight.

House Republican officials said the bill could get a vote as early as Tuesday in that chamber.

Pennsylvania is the only major gas-producing state that doesn’t tax natural gas production.

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