On April 1^st, drillers operating in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation were required to pay their annual well fees to the Commonwealth.  As discussed in Policy Briefs Volume 12, Numbers 11, 21 and 51, Act 13 of 2012 gave counties with unconventional (Shale) drilling within their borders the option of charging a fee on each well.  All counties have in fact done so.  Revenue from this new fee, collected in 2012, provided $206 million to be shared among state agencies, counties, and municipalities.  However, in 2013 fee revenue slipped to $198 million.  Is the revenue reduction a one-time event, or the start of a trend?