On October 3, 2024, an informational roundtable organized by the American Exploration and Production Council (AXPC) was held at the Washington County Airport. A bipartisan Congressional Staff Delegation, AXPC representatives, and local representatives including Washington County Commissioners, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry, Pittsburgh Works Together, Range Resources, and RACW were all in attendance.
The group toured well pads around Washington County before sitting down with Congressional staffers to discuss the benefits that stem from the natural gas industry in the County in-part due to subsequent Act 13 Impact Fees and the challenges surrounding oil and gas economics in the region. The expansion of the Washington County Airport’s infrastructure is attributed to the Act 13 Impact Fees, gas lease revenues, and grants provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Pennsylvania Bureau of Aviation (BOA) of which improvements include runway resurfacing, Taxiway resurfacing, LED runway lighting, Northside and Southside hangar pads, the construction of Airport Road, and, currently under construction, the Southside Taxiway and Apron project which will add new aircraft hangars. The Washington County Airport is a 401 acre publicly owned general aviation facility located 25 miles south of Pittsburgh that is managed by RACW on behalf of Washington County. The Airport is home to nearly 100 based aircraft with a 5,004’ runway and full parallel taxiway system.
This year, 2024, marks the 20th anniversary since the first Marcellus Shale well was successfully drilled in Mount Pleasant Township in 2004 by Range Resources Corporation. The Marcellus Shale formation is the second-largest natural gas field in the world lying underneath half of the east coast of the United States from southern New York to northern Kentucky. For more information about the history about the ‘Shale Revolution’, click HERE.