A Pennsylvania state senator plans to introduce legislation prohibiting municipalities that file climate lawsuits against energy companies from reaping the economic benefits of the oil and gas industry. Announced in light of Bucks County’s recent climate lawsuit and the activist group Center for Climate Integrity (CCI)’s pitch to Allegheny County, the legislation marks the latest effort from state leaders rejecting this litigation campaign.
Senator Gene Yaw, who chairs the Pennsylvania Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, put out a memo last month announcing his plans. Specifically, the bill would exclude municipalities engaged in the Rockefeller-funded-and-nationally-coordinated climate litigation campaign from receiving distributions of Impact Fees collected from the state’s oil and gas activity.
The co-sponsor memo reads:
“In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would prohibit the distribution of Impact Fees generated from natural gas development to any county that is actively suing over fossil fuel use. Revenue that is currently allocated through Impact Fees to a county that is in on-going litigation shall be redirected to housing assistance.
It is only fitting that those counties which choose to support the safe and responsible development of our domestic energy resources benefit from those Impact Fee and Legacy funds. I hope you will join me in supporting this measure.”
The state’s Impact Fee is structured so all 67 counties in the Commonwealth receive a portion of the funds to support local economic development, conservation, and environmental projects, including watershed restoration, flood mitigation, greenways/trails, recreation projects, and more – meaning the redirection of funds would be a massive economic blow to municipalities.
More than $2.5 billion has been generated by the program since it was established in 2011, with $279 million of that coming in 2023.
Bucks County alone has received over $6.7 million in Marcellus Legacy Funds generated by the Impact Fee since the beginning of the Shale Revolution, which they have used for flood prevention projects, park improvements, and more.
Sen. Yaw is just the latest Pennsylvanian to speak out publicly against climate litigation. He joins other prominent business, industry, and labor groups like the Pennsylvania Manufacturer’s Association, Pittsburgh Works, and the Manufacturer & Business Association who have warned against this lawfare, writing to the Allegheny County Council:
“It doesn’t take a lawyer to know that filing a lawsuit will not solve climate change. It won’t prevent natural disasters or rehabilitate old infrastructure. It will, however, drive up the cost of energy for Pennsylvanians, waste taxpayer dollars, and demonize an industry that is a crucial economic driver for our state.”
Similarly, Sam Breene, Chairman of the Venango County Board of Commissioners, rebuked the effort, writing in PennLive:
“…Western Pennsylvanians are being used to further the anti-fossil fuel agenda by out-of-touch climate alarmists and out-of-state attorneys. Enough is enough.
If these supposed environmentalists actually cared about the environment and emissions, they would be targeting India and China, the actual drivers of pollution, instead of Pennsylvania and American companies.”
At the same time, local opposition to Bucks County’s suit was so strong and swift that a commissioner withdrew his support merely a week later.
Bottom Line: Prominent and local opposition to climate litigation continues to grow in Pennsylvania, with pending legislation forcing an economic reckoning for counties like Bucks and Allegheny. The choice: reject out-of-state activist efforts to dismantle a lifeblood of the Pennsylvania economy – natural gas; or cut the legs out of a key revenue source for public good on which taxpayers and families depend.
