Ohio Tax Commissioner Putting New O&G Pipelines at Risk
The Ohio Tax Commissioner is facing a lawsuit from Rover Pipeline over an aggressive property tax assessment that inflates the project’s market value. The dispute centers on the state treating $2.2 billion in weather-related construction overruns and an unrealistic “infinite lifespan” assumption as value-adding assets. Critics argue that this approach violates constitutional principles of fair market valuation, under which taxes should reflect what a willing buyer would pay rather than total development costs. Read More “Ohio Tax Commissioner Putting New O&G Pipelines at Risk”
In August 2014, the Marshall County, WV board of commissioners voted to approve a plan to build a Marcellus Shale-powered electric plant in the county (see 
Pipelines in West Virginia (like most other states) pay property taxes. It’s a significant revenue generator for counties. There are many pipelines in Wetzel County, including three NGL pipelines owned and operated by MarkWest (aka MPLX) that connect to the Mobley Gas Plant. In 2022, MarkWest filed a tax return for the pipelines showing a 35% reduction in value due to less-than-forecasted pipeline usage, a concept called “economic obsolescence based on inutility.” The County Assessor for Wetzel County challenged MarkWest’s claim. 
Pennsylvania assesses an impact fee (PA’s version of a severance tax) on shale drillers, raising revenues that are paid to local municipalities (60% collected) and the black hole of Harrisburg politicians (40%). Yesterday, the PA Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) issued an estimate of how much the impact fee will raise this year, with the funds distributed in April of next year. The IFO says it expects, based on the price of natural gas and the number of new and existing wells, that PA will generate $239.9 million from the impact fee in 2025, a huge $75.3 million (46%) increase from 2024. The average fee per well generated will be $19,056 in 2025, up from $13,560 (41%) in 2024. 
Two weeks ago, Pennsylvania finally passed a budget, four months late. As part of the deal struck between Democrats and Republicans, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme was permanently ash-canned (see 
Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) approved a Tentative Order by a 3-2 vote, proposing a statewide model tariff (tax) to manage the growing impact of large-load customers, such as AI data centers, on the electric grid (see 
We may finally, after seven long years of torture, have a resolution to the issue of forcing Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme. The rumors are swirling around Harrisburg that the Democrats (including Governor Josh Shapiro) and Republicans in the state Senate are close to a budget deal. The budget was supposed to be adopted by July 1st. It’s now over four months late, and school districts and government agencies dependent on state funding are hurting. The rumor is that the budget deal includes a provision to dump PA’s participation in RGGI. Lefty environmentalists are having a CO2-emitting cow at the news. 
Something remarkable has happened in the Pennsylvania State Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority with 27 members and Democrats have 23 members. In an unusual act of bipartisanship, six of the Democrat Senators (26% of all PA Democrat Senators, more than one-quarter) voted with all 27 Republicans to pass a bill that would erase Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) regulations from Pennsylvania’s books. RGGI is a carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired power plants in the state. 
West Virginia’s oil, gas, and coal industries are experiencing a resurgence, fueled by supportive state and federal policies. Gas & Oil Association of West Virginia (GO-WV) President Charlie Burd reports that Fiscal Year FY25 severance tax collections rose to $318 million, alongside record natural gas production, 90% of which is exported out of the state. Property taxes levied on oil and gas in the state were $428 million for FY24 (the 2025 numbers are not out yet). Burd said the O&G industry continues to directly employ around 15,000 people.