HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House on Wednesday approved a bill that would impose the state's first tax on natural gas extraction, advancing a plan to split the proceeds among the state's general fund, environmental programs and local governments.

The 104-94 vote was a major step toward collecting revenue from the drilling boom in a wide swath of the state that overlays the Marcellus Shale gas formation. The vote was immediately praised by the environmental advocacy group PennFuture as a "reasonable and robust tax."

But the bill requires approval by the Republican-controlled state Senate, and earlier Wednesday a leading GOP senator said it contained a tax rate that was too high and that it did not devote sufficient money to communities in the shale region.

The House-passed measure sets a rate of 39 cents per 1,000 cubic feet, which Republicans called the nation's highest rate — a claim disputed by Democrats. A legislative analysis said it would net more than $316 million in 2011-12, its first full year, an amount that would rise to $578 million by 2014-15.

It would dedicate 60 percent of the revenue for environmental needs and local municipalities, with the rest going into the state general fund.

Local governments would get 16 percent of the revenue, much of it targeted for areas in which drilling is being conducted.