Preferential Assessment (Clean & Green)

Under Act 88, land subject to preferential assessment under PA Clean and Green may be used for exploration for, and removal of, gas and oil. Roll-back taxes will be imposed upon only those portions of land actually devoted to these activities, excluding land devoted to subsurface transmission or gathering lines. Act 88 also allows for the development and use of Tier I alternative energy on any land use category of Clean and Green to be kept under preferential assessment as long as more than half of the energy annually generated is used on the tract of land.

Clean and Green, established by the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act, provides for lower property tax assessments of qualified parcels capable of producing agricultural products and timber or providing open space for public use. Clean and Green is managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Direct questions to the administrator at (717) 705-7796. WeConservePA guide. 7 pages.

Provides information, as it becomes available, on how counties are handling Marcellus Shale drilling on Clean and Green properties.

The annual reports provide an overview of farmland preservation tools in Pennsylvania and their track record. They include data on the participation in the Clean and Green program and a list of all agricultural security areas in the state by county and township.

The Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act, commonly known as “Clean and Green” or Act 319, provides for lower property tax assessments of land capable of producing wood products, agricultural land, and open space land open to the public.

The manual is intended to provide legislators with observations on basic topics that are fundamental to, or frequently arise in connection with, municipal government in the Commonwealth; overview of some of the local government-related issues that may arise in constituent inquiries; links to various resources pertaining to municipal issues, contacts for government agencies and municipal associations, laws affecting municipalities, and relevant websites.

Information to help the reader better understand farming in Pennsylvania, local taxes, and the impact of real property taxes on farms.

Preferential assessment of rural land has modestly slowed the rate of rural land development. It also imposes social costs. Reform of preferential assessment programs could both improve their efficacy and reduce negative impacts.

The purpose of the Taxation Manual is to provide local government officials with a general guide to municipal tax revenue sources. The eighth edition, published in 2002, was updated with an addendum in 2004.

Provides an overview of the Clean and Green program in a frequently asked question format.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Bureau of Forestry is responsible for setting maximum assessed values for forest- land enrolled in Clean and Green. This publication discusses how these maximum assessed values for forestland enrolled in Clean and Green are calculated.