Marcellus Legacy Fund Provides More than $16 Million for Greenways, Trails and Recreation in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Tom Corbett announced today that the Commonwealth Financing Authority approved more than $16 million in funding to support 116 greenways, trails and recreation projects throughout Pennsylvania. 

The funds were a part of the $28.5 million made available over the past two years to fund six Marcellus Legacy Fund programs administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA).

"We established these programs to ensure a portion of the funds collected through the Marcellus Shale impact fee goes back to local communities to support environmental enhancement and conservation programs," Corbett said. "The first round of funding will provide more than $16 million to develop, rehab and improve our public parks and recreation areas."

The 116 approved greenways, trails and recreation projects are located in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Carbon, Chester, Clarion, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Lehigh, Luzerne, Mercer, Mifflin, Montgomery, Monroe, Northampton, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Snyder, Susquehanna, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming and York counties.

In addition to the Greenways, Trails and Recreation program, the CFA also approved five additional programs under the Marcellus Legacy Fund, which include Watershed Restoration and Protection, Baseline Water Quality Data, Abandoned Mine Drainage Abatement and Treatment, Orphan or Abandoned Well Plugging and Flood Mitigation programs.

Act 13, which Corbett signed into law in 2012, authorized counties to impose an impact fee on unconventional natural gas wells.

To date, the fee has generated more than $400 million and is benefiting every Pennsylvanian. The majority of the revenues are distributed to local governments where drilling is taking place, with the remainder of the money used for statewide initiatives.

The programs are administered jointly by the Department of Community and Economic Development, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Department of Environmental Protection, under the direction of the CFA.

For more information about the Act 13 Programs, the CFA or a complete list of approved projects, visit www.newPA.com or call 1-866-466-3972.

Media contacts:
Kelli Roberts, Governor's Office; 717-783-1116
Lyndsay Frank, DCED; 717-783-1132

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor