NANTICOKE, Pa. — Thursday, Governor Wolf signed a bill to help out manufacturing companies that use natural gas to make other products.
During a news conference at Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke, state lawmakers and others cheered the new law they hope will bring jobs to northeast Pennsylvania.
This law will provide a tax credit to as many as four companies that use natural gas to make other products, such as fertilizer.
"The local resource manufacturing tax credit will set the stage for the development of entirely new manufacturing industry clusters throughout northeastern Pennsylvania," said Senator John Yudichak (I-Luzerne/Carbon).
The tax credit won't be available until 2025.
In order to get the tax credit, companies must invest a minimum of $400 million to build a plant that utilizes natural gas and creates a minimum of 800 new good-paying jobs, and they must hire people from the area.
"These companies have to look to the local labor market with prevailing wage rate and benefits," continued Yudichak.
The state lawmakers say they will work with other lawmakers in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties to make sure one company goes to one of those counties.
State Representative Aaron Kaufer of Luzerne County was the prime sponsor of the bill.
"Talking about how we can use tax credits in northeastern Pennsylvania to bring good-paying manufacturing jobs to northeastern Pennsylvania," said Kaufer (R-120th District).
Construction workers with the Laborers' International Union of North America look forward to the day work starts to build one of these plants.
"Four years worth of work in one spot where you know you're getting up every day. You know you're going to work every day in the same place," said union representative David Horn.
However, not everyone is pleased with the new law.
A group of protestors gathered outside the news conference.
Claudia Glennan lives in Salem Township which is already home to a nuclear plant and a natural gas-powered plant.
She's afraid one of these new manufacturing plants will be built in that same area.
"A potential site for a cracker plant which they use natural gas to make plastics," said Glennan. "I'm already covered on both, and this thing could potentially be almost in my front yard."
Senator Yudichak says there are two manufacturing companies that already have an interest in building production facilities that would utilize natural gas in Pennsylvania.
One of those companies is based in Centre County and is looking at locations in that area, including Clinton County.
The earliest that a company could apply for the new tax credit is five years from now in 2025.