TOWANDA -- A bill that would have ensured natural gas royalties to property owners died in the state House of Representatives. That affects thousands of people across northeastern and central Pennsylvania. Many of them were fighting for it.
Kathy Fisk has owned a home with her family for thirty years in Wyalusing. When she was approached by Chesapeake Energy for drilling natural gas on her property, she expected to receive royalty payments. Several months later, she didn't get a check because Chesapeake Energy said Fisk and her husband owed them money.
She is one of thousands across Pennsylvania not receiving royalty payments for natural gas drilled on their property and now is fighting back.
"Chesapeake by the same token came into our home, sat down with us on dining room table and in our living room and told us he wanted to shake our hand and to sign a contract, and we did that with that same good faith and now it's very different for us," said Fisk.
Hundreds of homeowners went to Harrisburg this fall to fight for House Bill 1391. That law would guarantee that a royalty payment would not be less than 12.5 percent. Some companies have been reducing royalty payments by deducting what are known as post-production costs.
The bill was on the floor at the House, but due to a lack of voting, it did not pass.
"House Bill 1391, they let die at the vine. It was pretty well done; they loaded it up with amendments no one would vote for and then they just ran the clock out," said Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko.
Commissioner McLinko says this means a quarter of a billion dollars is gone out of northeast Pennsylvania, a loss for thousands of people.
"The Republican Party, which I am a part of, in Harrisburg thinks they own rural Pennsylvania had just turned their backs on us and walked away," said Commissioner McLinko.
Property owners like Fisk can only hope that next year the bill doesn't suffer the same fate.
"I'm disappointed in them because this is our livelihood. It isn't just what type of check Walt and Kathy are getting at their house but when we get this money, we're going out into the community, we're supporting our local businesses," said Fisk.