Johnny Williams
Freelance Journalist

The Marcellus Shale impact fee allocates funds to PHARE to address housing needs of the low and moderate income, persons with disabilities and the elderly in counties where gas wells have been drilled.

A popular focus point surrounding how much the natural gas industry pays to the state has been that of education. Despite Pennsylvania being in the top 10 for per-pupil educational spending, it’s apparently not enough. At the local level, however, the greatest fear of a proposed severance tax would be the elimination of Act 13, which has generated over $850 million over four years and sees 60 percent of that number go back to the counties and municipalities that actually host natural gas operations.

This impact tax, which is essentially what Act 13 is, affects even more than local governments, however. It has grown CNG initiatives, awarded scholarships to unemployed or underemployed Pennsylvanians to help them gain family-sustaining jobs and returning again this year is aid to build affordable housing through PHARE funding (Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement).

PHARE is organized by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), which issued a Request for Proposals last week regarding projects to “improve the availability and affordability of housing in the Marcellus Shale region of the state,” according to a press release announcing the latest availability of PHARE funding.

The PHFA looks to assist older adults, those with special housing needs and low and moderate-income families by providing affordable homes and rental options.

“The funding to address housing needs comes from Marcellus Shale impact fees,” the press release states “Those fees are directed to, and administered from, the PHARE Fund. This year’s funding includes $5 million received in 2015 for wells drilled or active in 2014, as well as Marcellus Shale impact fee funds provided to municipalities that exceeded a certain percentage or dollar amount set by law.”

“This funding is helping to address the housing shortage in Marcellus Shale counties,” PHFA Executive Director and CEO Brian A. Hudson said.”We have been impressed with the resourcefulness of local governments and their ability to use this funding to address their own unique housing challenges. They have been able to customize their use of this funding to achieve the greatest local results.”

This is not the first year that impact fee dollars have developed affordable housing via the PHARE fund. Last year, $450,000 worth of PHARE funds went to Towanda to renovate apartments for the disabled, as well as an additional $760,000 for even more apartments. Also last year, over $2 million was granted to several projects in Lycoming County. For more examples of how PHARE funds are used in Pennsylvania, click here, followed by different years’ “Reservations of Funds”.

State PHARE dollars, which come from the impact fee on gas drilling, are funding this construction project.

While the PHARE fund was established in 2010 with Act 105, it essentially sat in limbo until the impact fee came along two years later to give it a source of revenue. Since then, approximately $30 million has been awarded to various affordable housing projects across the Marcellus Shale region.

“Act 105 of 2010 did not ‘take effect’ until such time as funding was made available for the PHARE Program,” the 2012 PHARE report states. “The funding for PHARE was not available until Act 13 of 2012 was enacted therefore making PHARE fully in effect and including the provision that an Annual Report be delivered.”

The press release states that the PHFA will host two public informational webinars on July 1 and July 16, which will allow potential applicants to ask questions and get clarification on how to apply for PHARE funds, which will be able to be found on the PHFA website. Also available on the website is the Request for Proposals form. The deadline for proposal submission is August 14.