Works for whom?: The public deserves a Marcellus Shale incentive
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Pennsylvanians should be eager to take advantage of the cheaper fuel that is the natural gas locked inside Marcellus Shale. And more of them would if they felt state government were dealing evenhandedly with the industry -- by not just welcoming its jobs and lower-cost energy but also giving strong oversight to drilling and taxing its output in a way that's comparable to other states.
But the House, Senate and Governor's Office, now controlled by Republicans, is taking a lopsided approach. They are shielding this robust industry from taxation, letting a development official expedite job-related permits (including those for gas drilling) and giving a political appointee (not field inspectors) the final say over whether drillers get charged with violations.
The latest evidence of government coddling is "Marcellus Works," seven House bills unveiled on April 6 that would provide $47.5 million in tax credits, grants and loans to spur the consumption and use of natural gas from Marcellus Shale. We would have thought the low price of such energy from having the "new Saudi Arabia" in Pennsylvania would have been incentive enough.
Instead, House Republicans, before legislating on drillers a severance tax or even the more politically palatable "impact fee," want to spend public dollars to subsidize the industry.
Among the proposals are House Bill 1083 by Stan Saylor of York County, which would create tax credits for private fleets to reduce the cost of natural gas vehicles; HB 1084 by Dan Moul of Adams County, which would offer grants to small transit agencies to encourage the use of natural gas buses; HB 1085 by Kathy Watson of Bucks County, which would give loans to large transit systems for buying natural gas buses; and HB 1086 by Jim Marshall of Beaver County, which requires a minimum portion of all bus purchases by large transit agencies to be natural gas buses -- 25 percent in 2012-16, 50 percent in 2017-21, 75 percent in 2022-26 and 100 percent in 2027.
All things being equal, it's hard to oppose incentives for using new technologies that will cut transit costs, reduce air pollution and stimulate business. But we're not sure it is equal. From their narrow perspective, Marcellus Shale executives must be tickled that, at the very moment Harrisburg is giving them a pass on a severance tax, it wants to throw millions of public dollars their way.
The grants, loans and tax credits of Marcellus Works will certainly work for the industry. What doesn't work for Pennsylvanians is the lack of comparable zeal by Republicans for accountability and taxability of businesses that can have a profound impact on the state's air, water and landscape.
First Published April 26, 2011 12:00 am
