Unveiling a much-anticipated plan to regulate and harness Pennsylvania’s booming natural gas industry, Gov. Tom Corbett called Monday for even-handed laws that recognize the competition beyond the state’s borders for an industry that he said is boosting the economy and lowering energy bills.
Corbett’s plan would allow counties to impose fees of up to $160,000 per well over 10 years to help pay for the cost to regulate the drilling and fix the damage it causes to the environment. It also would toughen laws that protect the state’s water sources and help the industry find new outlets for its product, such as converting school bus fleets or mass transit systems to natural gas power.
“Affordable, reliable energy allows companies to grow, but how do we get there? We have to make sure that we do this right, from the very beginning,” Corbett told a crowd at a unionized carpenters training hall in Pittsburgh. “If we’re looking at this industry, it’s a little bit beyond a newborn, it’s not even crawling yet though. ... We have to get there by smart, sound, even-handed, level playing-field regulation and legislation.”
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