A severance tax and other election-year proposals potentially could dismantle Pennsylvania’s unprecedented natural gas production growth, the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association’s president warned. “From severance tax proposals of 5-10% to legislation to retroactively impose a $3 million/well ‘fee’ for every well that has been drilled on state forest land, it appears that some elected officials want to scrap the effective policies and regulations that have allowed Pennsylvania to become the second-largest natural gas producer in the US in 5 short years,” PIOGA Pres. Louis D. D’Amico said on Sept. 4. The proposals have come from Keystone State politicians from 2014 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tom Wolf to members of the state’s General Assembly from both parties, he said. “With natural gas production at an all-time high, a reasonable 5% severance tax would generate over $1 billion in 2015,” Wolf said in a Sept. […]