Senator Casey’s Visit

US Senator Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) visited Linde Corporation August 21st to meet with Scott Linde and the heads of other companies which provide ancillary help to the natural gas industry. The article from the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader is reprinted below, along with a brief description of 3 natural gas bills the Senator is supporting. Two of those bills would encourage expanded natural gas usage by local businesses and vehicles, while the third bill would provide training for natural gas-related jobs.

The following article appeared on page 6A of the Times Leader:

PITTSTON – U.S. Sen. Bob Casey met with leaders of area companies that provide services to the natural gas industry on Tuesday, and said he walked away from the meeting with a greater sense of the potential and actual economic impact natural gas is having in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
“I think if anything, folks in government need to have more conversations more interactions with folks in the private sector on this, because you learn a lot,” Casey, D-Scranton, said.
The meeting was held at offices of site contractor Linde Corp. in Pittston and included Scott Linde, president of Linde Corp.; Bill Kelley, owner of Montrose-based oilfield supply company BX3 and equipment supplier Taylor Rental; Craig Keller, owner of Tunkhannock-based crushed stone supplier Keller Crushing and Screening Inc. and Gary Parrish, owner of Montrose-based gas well services contractor G.L. Parrish Inc.

After the meeting, Casey stumped for three natural gas bills he sponsored now under consideration in Senate committees. They are:

The STATE Natural Gas Act
Senator Casey’s Supporting Transportation Alternatives to Tackle Emissions with Natural Gas Act, or STATE Natural Gas Act, would create a grant program to offer states funding to develop initiatives that encourage the use of natural gas as a fuel and encourage public and private investment in natural gas vehicles and transportation infrastructure.
States would apply for grants through the Department of Energy and would be awarded based on several criteria, including:
•The amount of public and private funds State plans are likely to leverage;
•The degree that initiatives will support a need that is unlikely to be met by the private sector absent grant program funding;
•The degree that initiatives will act as a bridge to private investment and sustainable market conditions; and,
•Each State’s public and private investment in natural gas transportation and infrastructure.

The NGEAR Act
Senator Casey’s Natural Gas Energy and Alternative Rewards (NGEAR) Act would create a new rebate program for the purchase of natural gas buses and extend tax credits for natural gas filling stations and vehicle fuel, reducing costs for businesses and municipalities in the short-run and leading to long-term cost savings.
Specifically, the NGEAR Act would:
•Establish a rebate of 30%, up to $15,000, for the purchase of natural gas school and transit buses;
•Extend the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit of $0.50 a gallon for the retail sale of natural gas fuel for everyone who uses it to power vehicles through 2016; and,
•Extend a tax credit for installing commercial natural gas refueling infrastructure through 2016, totaling 30% of the system, up to $30,000.

Marcellus Shale On-the-Job Training Act
Senator Casey’s Marcellus Shale On-the-Job Training Act would help give Pennsylvania workers the skills needed to get jobs in the natural gas industry so that workers are not shipped in from out-of-state. The bill would authorize grants to strengthen On-the-Job Training programs to help ensure natural gas drilling jobs go to Pennsylvanians.
On-the-Job Training is a program authorized under the Workforce Investment Act. The main purpose of the program is to allow an employer to sign a contract with the local workforce investment board (WIB), agreeing to hire workers that need on-site training. The WIB provides a training subsidy to the employer equal to a percentage of the wage paid to the employee.