2016 Impact Fee Estimate - January 2017
January 02, 2017 | Energy
Pennsylvania imposes an annual impact fee on unconventional (i.e., shale) natural gas wells that were drilled or operating in the previous calendar year. The research brief uses recent data published by the Department of Environmental Protection to estimate collections for calendar year (CY) 2016, which will be remitted in April 2017. The estimated amount of the impact fee for CY 2016 is $174.6 million, which is $13.1 million less than the amount collected for the prior year.
The brief also translates the impact fee into an annual average effective tax rate (ETR) based on recent natural gas price and production data. The ETR is estimated to be 5.0 percent, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points from CY 2015.