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Gas royalty fight deserves another visit in January

The idea is simple: Landowners lease property to gas companies, giving them drilling rights, with the expectation of a minimum 12.5-percent royalty payment. The results have not been simple. Many landowners in our region believe they are being shortchanged and have made their claims known to lawmakers. State Rep. Garth Everett, a Muncy Republican, has sponsored a bill on their behalf, a bill that he believes would have received House approval this fall – had it gotten to a floor vote. House Majority Leader Dave Reed was not happy with the legislation as it was written and didn’t let it go to the floor for a vote. Everett, who said many lawmakers are unhappy with the lack of a vote, promised to come forth with the same bill in January. We hope he does, because logic is on his side. The royalties act regarding energy was passed in 1979 before the existence of post-production costs, which are causing the discrepancy between what landowners believe they should be getting and what they are actually receiving. We are fully behind a fairly regulated, efficient, environmentally safe gas drilling industry and welcome the broad economic boost those companies can bring to our region. But the landowners who make the drilling possible deserve to be fully compensated and they deserve legislation that removes the gray areas on royalties. This should not be a matter of accounting debate between companies and landowners. This legislation removes the unnecessary numbers argument and we hope the Legislature will see that in January.

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