Senator Dinniman Speaks Out Against Marcellus Shale Legislation

State Sen. Andy Dinniman held a press conference on the Old Courthouse steps Friday afternoon to address concerns he had about the Marcellus Shale bill passed Thursday in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

“I believe the citizens of this county have made their feelings clear,” Dinniman said. “They feel that we need a fair impact fee or a tax on natural gas drilling.”

According to Dinniman, the bill passed by the house would provide less than $94 million in tax revenue that was required by the senate’s bill.

“Our bill was bad,” Dinniman said. “But theirs was even worse.”

Dinniman suggested that the tax rate for Marcellus Shale drilling should be similar to tax rates in other states with oil or natural gas reserves.

“If we’re going to be the Texas of the East Coast, then let’s do what Texas does,” Dinniman said.

He added, “Please don’t forget we’re talking about billions of dollars in profits for these companies. Pennsylvania has the fourth-largest natural gas reserve in the world. Do you really think if we taxed 6 or 7 percent these companies would go somewhere else?”

Sharon Ward, executive director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, agreed with Dinniman and argued that the tax rate should be similar to the rates in other states.

According to Ward, the tax rate in Texas is 7.5 percent, in West Virginia the rate is 6 percent, and in Arkansas the rate is 4.5 percent.

“There’s a game that’s being played in the legislature,” Ward said. “That game is, ‘How low can you go?’ The proposed rate is a token tax rate that does little to support economic growth in the state.”

Dinniman also argued that the house legislation makes no consideration for environmental impacts.

“A lot of students come up to me, and they say, ‘Senator, how could the state of Pennsylvania let the coal industry do to the environment what they did?’” Dinniman said. “We’re still paying for that damage 100 years later, and now it’s happening again.”

He added, “If we don’t do something, people in future will ask how this moment was lost.”