Rep. Jill Cooper of Westmoreland has announced that municipalities in the 55th Legislative District will receive nearly $600,000 from natural gas impact fees collected in 2024 under Act 13 of 2012. These funds come from unconventional gas wells, also known as deep gas wells.
Cooper stated, “We know municipal budgets are stretched thin and local officials work hard to keep real estate taxes as low as possible. Act 13 revenue is an important bridge that enables townships, boroughs and cities to provide important services while respecting our shared constituencies’ finances.”
In addition to local funding, Westmoreland County government will receive over $1 million. Across Pennsylvania, more than $160 million will be distributed for the 2024 reporting year, bringing the total since 2012 to over $2.88 billion.
Sixty percent of these funds go to the Unconventional Gas Well Fund for use by municipalities with wells on projects such as public infrastructure construction and maintenance, public safety services, environmental programs, water supply preservation, tax reductions, social services, judicial services, career and technical training, accessible housing projects and records management.
The remaining forty percent is allocated to the Marcellus Legacy Fund for all counties regardless of well presence. These funds support environmental initiatives and infrastructure projects. The state uses any remaining funds for emergency response planning and training; water system construction and repair; infrastructure maintenance; and statewide environmental initiatives.
Specific disbursements in the district include:
– City of Arnold: $7,025.14
– Avonmore Borough: $1,432.20
– Bell Township: $68,041.70
– Delmont Borough: $3,896.37
– Derry Township: $159,770.83
– Export Borough: $1,446.58
– City of Lower Burrell: $17,155.90
– Loyalhanna Township: $9,891.71
– Municipality of Murrysville: $59,627.58
– New Alexandria Borough: $883.79
– City of New Kensington: $18,214.83
– Oklahoma Borough: $945.18
– Salem Township: $31,571.67
– Upper Burrell Township: $69,795.05
– Washington Township: $150,251.12
These disbursements total approximately $599,949.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission oversees collecting and distributing Act 13 revenue and has submitted data to the Pennsylvania Treasury for payments expected in early July.
For further information about Act 13 distributions visit www.act13-reporting.puc.pa.gov.
