A natural gas extraction tax included in the new budget should be in place by fall -- a tax that will change the economy and environment of surrounding areas but shows little sign of affecting Penn State.
State Senate Republicans agreed Tuesday to a tentative deal to support an extraction tax proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell, if he was successful in passing the budget on time.
The agreement will have the tax pushed through the legislature by October 1 and in place by January.
Locally, any potential effects of the drilling seems likely to be minute.
CATA General Manager Hugh Mose said that even though CATA buses are fueled by natural gas, a tax would be unlikely to affect operating costs, since they buy gas from around the country.
Paul Ruskin, Penn State Office of Physical Plant (OPP) spokesman, said there are no drilling plans near the University Park campus.
"Our local water supply is safe," he said.
The deal allows the tax to be decided upon before the gubernatorial elections -- where Republican candidate Tom Corbett has made a pledge not to raise taxes during his term.
While the extraction tax has faced opposition in the past -- mostly from Republicans -- the agreement proves it now sees support from both sides of the aisle.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, called the tax "inevitable."
State Democrats, meanwhile, maintain that Pennsylvania has been one of a dwindling number of major gas-producing states without a gas extraction tax.
"Even the great state of Texas has a tax," said Tor Michaels, Chief of Staff for Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre.
Michaels said the gas industry has already paid more than $2 billion to secure property rights and develop infrastructure allowing drilling -- numbers that prevent backing out because of a new tax.
With the tax close to enactment, the final recipient of the tax revenues has come into question.
Scarnati, for one, has accused Rendell of weakening his support of environmental concerns.
While Rendell was the one to propose the extraction tax, Scarnati said Rendell has allotted an insufficient amount of the tax revenue -- only 10 percent -- to environmental programs.
