Donald Roessler
Washington County, Pa. Landowner and Gas Lease Holder
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While Tom Wolf is demagoguing about natural gas not paying its fair share, Tom Wolf is exploiting the impact fees it generates to play politics.
Governor Wolf proudly announced on Twitter yesterday that he is giving out several million dollars to fund various projects across the state. He makes himself sound like a hero and gives the impression that the money is coming from the general fund. In reality, this money is coming from the natural gas impact fees.
What Tom Wolf is doing is disgusting. He has been playing ads on TV here blasting the gas industry for not paying their “fair share.” He has, by doing so, just busted himself for lying to us about the “fair share” he falsely claims the industry doesn’t pay.
Two-faced Tom Wolf has also been blasting Scott Wagner, suggesting in his TCV ads that Wagner is somehow a tool of big oil and gas. Wagner is nobody’s tool. He simply recognizes how much the natural gas industry has done for Pennsylvania and is not so stupid as to try to hamstring it for the sake of pleasing a handful of environmental extremists.
We only need to look at the hypocrisy Tom Wolf is showing as he tries to make himself appear a hero at the expense of a gas industry that gives him the ability to pass out grants. He’s a pathetic liar.
Here, in fact, is his Tweet claiming the Commonwealth is funding these projects, as if it wasn’t the Marcellus Shale impact fees allowing him to pretend to be a hero:
And, here’s the press release from his official government website showing where this money is really coming from. I’m thinking he is hoping people read his Tweet without looking at this (emphasis added):
Today, Governor Tom Wolf today announced 359 new project approvals through the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA): 236 Small Water and Sewer Program projects to protect and improve municipalities’ water systems, and 123 projects using funds collected from the impact fee on unconventional gas wells in the Marcellus Shale which will support public services and environmental protection projects.
“These projects will ensure that vital services are being provided to communities all across the commonwealth,” Governor Wolf said. “From ensuring Pennsylvanians have access to clean water, to protecting communities from the devastating effects of flooding, to simply giving residents the chance to hike a new trail in their community, these projects will improve the quality of life for countless families and individuals across the commonwealth.”
The Pennsylvania Small Water and Sewer Program provides grants to assist municipalities with the construction, improvement, expansion, or repair of their water supplies or sanitary sewer systems. The small water and sewer projects approved today range from the construction of a new pump station to ensure reliable-long term public drinking water and fire protection in Houtzdale, Clearfield County; the replacement of vitrified clay sewer pipe with new PVC pipe that can meet system demand during storm events in Mt. Jewett, McKean County; the replacement of old and leaky fire hydrants that contribute to contaminated water in Boswell, Somerset County; and the construction of a new 150,000-gallon welded steel water storage tank in Valley View, Schuylkill County. Other projects include improvements and replacements of water mains, water treatment plants, sewer systems, and water line extensions in hundreds of municipalities in 49 counties across the commonwealth. The total funding amount is just under $50 million.
A complete list of Small Water and Sewer projects approved at today’s CFA meeting can be found herehighlighted in yellow.
The Marcellus Legacy Fund was created by Act 13 of 2012 to provide for the distribution of unconventional gas well impact fees to counties, municipalities, and commonwealth agencies. The act stipulates that a portion of the fee revenue will be transferred to the CFA for statewide initiatives that will include abandoned mine drainage abatement, abandoned well plugging, sewage treatment, greenways, trails and recreation, baseline water quality data, watershed restoration, and flood control.
The 123 Act 13 projects approved today are located in 38 counties. The total funding amount is $16.2 million.
What kind of guy shamelessly and falsely attacks the natural gas industry for not paying its fair share as he simultaneously takes credit for projects funded by that very industry. A despicable charlatan; nothing more and nothing less.
The post Tom Wolf Is Already Getting More Than His Fair Share of Impact Fees appeared first on Natural Gas Now.
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