The anticipated collection of more than $22 million in disputed and outstanding state impact fees on natural gas wells will help drive total collections to a projected record high of $247 million this year.

A report released Thursday by the state Independent Fiscal Office estimates the 2018 impact fees, which drillers will pay in April this year, will be $246.9 million, which reflects an increase of $37.4 million.

The increase includes $22.3 million in fees that drillers challenged in court, other outstanding fees and $15.1 million in fees on new wells.

Last year the state Supreme Court ruled that owners of wells producing more than 90,000 cubic feet of gas in one month of a year are required to pay the impact fee. The ruling reversed a 2017 lower court decision that said wells producing that amount every month of a year were subject to the fee.

The $246.9 million in 2018 fees eclipses the previous high of $223.5 million in 2014 and pushes the amount distributed to counties, municipalities and the Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund to $137.2 million, which exceeds the 2014 distribution of $123.3 million.

Impact fees totaled $209.5 million in 2017 when the local and HARE fund distribution was $114.7 million.

The other distributions from the 2018 fees are $91.4 million to the Marcellus legacy fund, $10.5 million to state agencies and $7.7 million to county conservation districts and the Public Utility Commission, which distributes the fees. All are record highs, according to the IFO estimate.

Fees on the 779 new wells drilled last year offset reduced collections from older wells as their fees declined or they became exempt due to low or declining production, resulting in a net gain of $15.1 million.

Impact fees are based on the volume of gas a well produces and the number of years it has been in production.

In 2018, new well fees are estimated at $39.4 million. Estimated fees on the 810 wells in their second year of production is $32.7 million. The 503 wells in their third year of production are expected to generate an estimated $15.1 million in fees.

Estimated fees on the 9,606 wells producing for four or more years is $148.4 million. Disputed and late fee payments are expected to be $11.1 million.

Drillers produced 6 trillion cubic feet of gas last year with a market value of $11.4 trillion, according to the ISO projection. The $246.9 million in impact fees represents an average annual effective tax rate of 2.2 percent.

Butler County and its municipalities with wells received $1,948,743 in 2017. The state distributes 60 percent of the fees to impacted counties and municipalities.

The county received $166,406 from the legacy fund, which is given to all counties regardless of whether they have wells.