PUC releases revised impact fee amounts for towns

A little more than a week after state officials announced they had miscalculated how much some municipalities should expect from this year's inaugural drilling impact fee, the Public Utility Commission released revised numbers outlining each town's share.

For most towns across the state, the figures released Wednesday afternoon will not dramatically alter the checks that will be headed their way soon.

About 600 towns will not see their share of the $200 million raised from gas drillers change from earlier estimates. Checks are already on the way to those communities.

Most other municipal officials will soon be receiving letters that indicate their checks, which currently are being processed by the state Treasury, will either increase or decrease by several hundred or several thousand dollars.

But for the city of Williamsport -- a major hub of activity in Lycoming County, which has seen a boom in hotels for workers and countless other impacts from the energy industry -- the revisions will mean an additional $300,000. 

That means Williamsport will receive a check for $559,743 -- the fourth-largest amount of any Pennsylvania town. As a result of the new calculation, a handful of Lycoming County towns will in turn see their shares of the revenue pot decrease.

Greene County's Cumberland Township, which had been set to receive the largest amount statewide, will still top that list with its anticipated check for $1,039,587.

The calculation issue arose from part of the complex formula used to determine how much of the new revenues should allocated to local governments near drilling sites. 

That portion of the distribution formula that allocates dollars to towns based on how many wells are located within five miles of its borders.

The error was identified after some towns asked the commission to double-check their portion, according to the PUC.