As a result of Senator Gene Yaw’s (R-23) bill, Act 15 of 2010, all companies drilling into the Marcellus Shale were compelled to report production on a six month basis. The bill became effective on May 21, 2010 and required the first submission of data on or before August 15, 2010. Thereafter, according to the law, the Department of Environmental Protection had until November 1st, 2010 to make the information publically available on its website. “To my knowledge, all companies operating in my Senatorial District filed by the August deadline in compliance with the law,” stated Senator Yaw. That information has now been posted on DEP’s website.
“The goal of this legislation was to provide complete transparency when it comes to natural gas production,” Yaw said. “It is hard for a landowner to know what kind of production they are getting on their own property because of the nature of harvesting natural gas. It goes from deep underground into a pipe and then off, so a lease-holder has no reference when it comes to their royalty payments.”
“I applaud DEP for jumping on this and getting this information to the public nearly two months ahead of schedule,” Yaw added. “The numbers I have seen are very encouraging and hopefully will bode well for our economic future.”
Yaw’s bill was the first major piece of Marcellus Shale legislation signed into law and an integral piece to the discussion of the severance tax. Without this legislation, projected revenue projections would be difficult to formulate.
Contact: Adam Pankake
(717) 787-3280