Time and again, officials have heralded the natural gas in the Marcellus Shale as the state's most promising source of revenue in a generation. Pennsylvania's Gold Rush, they say.
But with three weeks left for legislators to reach a deal on taxing the gas, a furious scrap has ensued over how big the nuggets will be - and who will receive them.
Through rallies, visits, e-mail, phone calls, closed-door meetings, and campaign contributions, an array of activists and lobbyists are vying to shape a tax that could be worth billions of dollars in Pennsylvania's future.
It's not just industry and environmentalists. Unions plan a Capitol rally. School boards statewide are pressing their legislators to set aside some of the tax for education. County commissioners chart how drilling operations have stressed their already ragged roads, bridges, and emergency services.
"We're in a recession. Revenues are down, needs are up, and everybody sees a pot of money, so they're sort of glomming on to it," said State Rep. Kate Harper (R., Montgomery), who said she was getting a dozen e-mails daily on the topic.
The glomming is sure to intensify this week, when the House's Democratic majority offers its gas-tax proposal and the GOP-controlled Senate returns for its final session of the year.
Democrats want a tax that would amount to about 5 percent of gas sales - a rate they say would bring at least $200 million a year into state and local treasuries.
