by Paul Berger
Widener University Environmental Politics and Policy Student
I am one that is definitely against fracking, but the way I see it, is that it is something that cannot be stopped, only slowed. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center (PBPC) says that the Impact Fee from the drilling of the Marcellus Shale will not be as beneficial to Pennsylvania as much as it is other states. If PA decides to stay with the impact fee that they created in 2012, the environmental and fiscal costs leave little room for profit. The solution that the PBPC are suggesting is to impose a 4% tax on drilling of new wells. These kinds of numbers will generate 1.2 billion dollars per year by 2020, which is three times the current fee. They go on to talk about how other states like West Virginia and Texas have these taxes in place, and their benefit will increase as production increases, while other states like Pennsylvania will not see an increase in profit. If PA keeps this fee instead of the tax, they are going to leave millions of dollars in revenue that could be used for schools, infrastructure and healthcare. If fracking is going to be something that cant be stopped, then why not benefit from it economically and help the state in other ways, even if it will destroy the environment
The American Partnership 