Residents Rally in Favor of Marcellus Shale Severance Tax

With the state Legislature required to pass a balanced budget within the next week, a group of concerned residents, environmentalists and parents converged in Southpointe Tuesday morning to again rally against Marcellus Shale pioneer Range Resources and ask it to pay a severance tax.

Organizers said in a statement that they want the company to “take a more active role in protecting education and critical services by supporting a gas severance tax. Despite deep budget cuts that could eliminate full-day kindergarten, limit class choice for high school students and increase class sizes, rich out-of-state gas companies continue to benefit from significant tax breaks and loopholes.”

The release goes on to state that a moderate gas severance tax—such as those enacted in other states with fossil fuel resources—is estimated to generate $200 million over the next year and grow to $400 million by 2015-16.

“Range Resources claims the company supports a tax on Marcellus Shale drilling, but with cuts to our children’s education just a week away, we cannot wait any longer for them to act. We are calling on Range Resources to join us in supporting a gas severance tax that will protect education, healthcare and other critical services,” Steve Shvozdovich of Clean Water Action said in the statement. “An impact fee, as proposed by (state) Sen. (Joe) Scarnati, lets the gas companies off the hook.  It makes it look like they’re paying a tax when in reality they won’t be paying close to what the standard is in every other state where they operate.” 

Today is the group’s to call on the company to join them in signing a letter to Gov. Tom Corbett and the Legislature in support of a gas extraction tax that would help reduce deep budget cuts to education, health care and other essential services.