General Assembly Approves Bill for State Funding of Marcellus Infrastructure

The PA State House approve HB2291 yesterday by a 128-68 count. It was an act providing for capital expenditures for 2010-2011.

Marcellus-related projects added to the projects bill by the Senate include:

- Carbondale Railyard Transload Facility, $5.4 million. The new railyard is being developed by Honesdale-based Linde Corp. to serve the natural gas industry.

- New rail facility to support shipping of products related to natural gas industry, Northumberland County $5 million.
- Five plants in Clearfield and Elk counties to treat and recycle hydrofracturing wastewater from Marcellus Shale drillers. Each requests state aid in the $4 million to $6 million range.

- Marcellus Shale industrial building at former brownfield site, Clearfield County, $1.2 million.

- Marcellus Shale enterprise center, Clearfield County, $10 million.

- Marcellus Shale learning resource center, Westmoreland County, $2 million.

- Delaware & Hudson Railway, build transload facilities and rehabilitate rail lines on this old anthracite region railroad from the New York State line to Sunbury to accommodate "new commodities and developing markets," $31 million. The railroad extends through Lackawanna, Susquehanna, Wyoming and Luzerne counties where natural gas drilling and exploration is occurring.

The original story ran in the Time-Tribune by Robert Swift.

Page 353 of the PDF file contains the following.

-5 million to rehab the old Fleetwood Motorhome plant in Ralpho Township. (Is something moving in?)

- 1 million for a regional recreation in Coal Township. (Purchase of the Ames Building?)

- 3.6 million for the propose OHV Park in southern Northumberland County.

Nearly 99% of the projects would be funded with the sale of bonds, 12.5 out of 12.6 billion dollars including all of the above.



While the debate goes on to add a severance tax to the Marcellus industry, we get to foot the bill for the extra's.