Published in the Times Leader, by Dan Meuser

June 15, 2014

On the heels of a report that conveniently picks and chooses tax revenues to highlight in order to advance its own political agenda, I’d like to set the record straight on Gov. Tom Corbett’s approach to fostering responsible growth within the Marcellus Shale natural gas play.

Gov. Corbett is focused on five key energy goals that strive to grow the Pennsylvania economy and move toward energy independence:

• Building upon world-class drilling quality standards to enhance and protect our natural resources and public health and safety.

• Establishing Pennsylvania as the keystone destination for responsible industry growth and competition.

• Creating good, family-sustaining jobs for today’s workers and tomorrow’s generations.

• Ensuring fair taxation and equitable revenue distribution.

• Safeguarding affordable home heating for households across Pennsylvania.

Under Gov. Corbett, our water has been protected by greater setback requirements, and through strict enforcement of higher environmental standards, we’re holding natural gas developers more accountable than ever.

Gov. Corbett has been focused on attracting new developers to explore growth opportunities in the commonwealth, and development of wells, power plants, pipelines and natural gas fueling stations continues today. That growth has supported and made more secure over 240,000 jobs in fields directly and indirectly related to drilling. From laborers to engineers and from drivers to business logistics strategists, this industrial revolution is poised to create jobs, educational development and career advancement opportunities for decades.

Gov. Corbett worked with the Legislature to adopt a unique impact fee, which is delivering hundreds of millions of dollars each year to the communities that need additional funding to address the local effects of natural gas development, and that funding has facilitated emergency response efforts, increased access to first-class water and sewer treatment systems and fortified local roads. To date, more than $630 million in new revenue has been generated for the benefit of communities all across the commonwealth.

Since the onset of Marcellus Shale development in Pennsylvania, corporate net income tax from the industry grown by 32 percent since 2009, while sales tax revenue increased 80 percent and employer withholding of income tax from workers’ wages rose by 69 percent. Drillers couldn’t exist without other businesses above and below in the industry supply chain, and the growth of the industry overall is evidenced in revenue growth.

Long-dormant local economies across Pennsylvania are growing and thriving for the first time in years, thanks to Marcellus Shale opportunities. But the benefit of natural gas development is becoming less and less regional as more and more homes are connected to natural gas lines. Homeowners across the commonwealth are benefiting from natural gas bills 30 to 40 percent lower than other fuel alternatives, saving $1,200 annually in lower energy bills, while small businesses are also realizing significant savings by making the switch to natural gas once ever-growing fuel lines are made available to them.

Gov. Corbett is committed to building a stronger Pennsylvania, and his priorities with regard to natural gas development strike a sensible balance: responsibly growing a burgeoning industry for the benefit of local communities and the commonwealth as a whole.

(Dan Meuser, "Gov. Tom Corbett’s energy plan fueling growth for Pa.," Times Leader, 6/15/14)