Lackawanna County Commissioners unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance to impose a fee on unconventional gas wells within the county on March 28. The fee “on each and every unconventional gas well spud,” or the actual start of drilling of an unconventional gas well, is pursuant to a mandate adopted by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett in February. “I don’t think any of us love Act 13 that the state has passed. They kind of tied our hands. We either have to jump in and do this before the next meeting or we won’t have any ability to collect any revenues whatsoever,” Commissioner Jim Wansacz said. While the legislation did not specify the amount of the fee, Wansacz said more details would be available before its final approval. The second vote and final reading of the ordinance is scheduled for the next commissioners’ meeting on April 11 at 10 a.m. Commissioners also unanimously approved the second and final reading of an ordinance that will allow the coroner’s office to impose a $25 service fee for the issuance of cremation permits and investigation. The legislation will take effect within 10 days of passage. Pennsylvania Act 152 of 1990 requires coroners in third class counties to investigate the “deaths or persons whose bodies are to be cremated, buried at sea or otherwise disposed of as to be thereafter un-available for examination,” according to the legislation, though the county coroner has not previously charged for this service as other areas have. In other business, commissioners unanimously executed an Additional Termination Event Agreement between PNC Bank and the county with a fee of $10,000 to help the bank cover legal costs to rewrite the swap agreement, according to Chief Financial Officer Tom Durkin. “In November, we entered into forbearance agreement with PNC because (credit rater) Moody’s downgraded the county below investment grade back in July. Part of the swap agreement we had with PNC says that if we’re downgraded below investment grade, that’s a terminable event…Had they terminated the swap, the county would have had to come out of pocket with about $11 million at that time,” Durkin explained. “Since then, Moody’s, in early January this year, completely withdrew their rating on Lackawanna County in addition to the downgrade that they had done last year…That actually is another terminable event under the terms of the swap agreement, and PNC Bank has issued this letter to forbear the termination of the swap, which would have cost the county about $10.5 million.” Commissioners also awarded a Community Development Block Grant Program Construction Contract for the Moosic Borough Kane Street and Gravity Road Storm Water Improvement Project to M.E. Soden, Inc., Honesdale, the low bidder, for $263,805, and appointed Fran Pantuso as the Open Records Officer of the county.
