To the Editor:

Pennsylvania’s natural gas impact fee is a tremendous resource for our counties. Each year, every county in the commonwealth benefits from the proceeds of this fee, which is essentially a tax on the industry.

Since its inception, the fee has generated more than $2.88 billion. That money has been distributed to counties to help fund important local projects and has also been put toward key environmental programs.

For more than a decade, this fee has done exactly what it was intended to do — generate funds to go directly back to local communities. It is truly a fee that benefits every part of the state, every year.

Act 13 funding has been provided to all 67 counties, including Lehigh County, to fund community projects in areas including, but not limited to, greenways and trails, parks and recreation facilities, watershed restoration, flood-control projects, sewage and water infrastructure and highway and transportation.

And the good news is it is not going anywhere. It will continue to generate funds for decades to come. In fact, as new gas wells come online, they will contribute to the overall revenues, further cementing the fee’s benefits for the foreseeable future.

This is a win-win for Pennsylvania.

Antonio Pineda

Whitehall

Editor’s note: Pineda serves on Lehigh County Board of Commissioners.