Let's think about this for a moment:

Natural gas is in high demand. It costs less than oil and pollutes less than coal. Natural gas from Pennsylvania could easily be piped to markets throughout the Northeast. That leaves the state perfectly situated to benefit from its unique geography.

Nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvania - 65 million acres - sits atop the Marcellus Shale formation, which is said to contain enough natural gas to supply the nation's needs for roughly 100 years.

And imposing a severance tax on natural gas, as is done in every other state that extracts natural gas, could bring in millions of dollars and help Pennsylvania bridge its budget gap. Had a severance tax been in place this year, it would have raised $107 million.

But the state does not have a severance tax because some lawmakers, who received campaign contributions from gas-drilling companies and their lobbyists, convinced the governor that a severance tax would undermine the state's attempts to nurture this nascent industry.

That argument now carries about as much weight as Conan O'Brien does at NBC. Last week, five commercial bidders - Chesapeake Energy Corp. of Oklahoma City, Exco Resources of Dallas, Seneca Resources of Houston, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. of Houston and Penn Virginia Corp. of Radnor - bid $128 million to drill on 32,000 acres of state forest land. The bid - $4,020 per acre - was nearly double what the state expected to receive. That alone should put to rest any questions lawmakers have about the profitability of this emerging industry.

It's important to note that if the industry takes off, as expected, it will lead to an infusion of revenue to state coffers from corporate and personal income taxes and the sale of gas to various outlets.

Pennsylvania is sitting on a golden opportunity. In his address to the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry in July, oil man T. Boone Pickens said if estimates are correct, Pennsylvania has one-fourth of all the natural gas reserves in the nation.

Twenty-eight states now impose severance or oil and gas production taxes. West Virginia reaped $328 million from its gas and oil taxes in 2007.

Rendell went along with Republican lawmakers a year ago, removing the severance tax from budget negotiations.

He said last week, in light of the rising prices drilling companies were willing to pay to lease state forest lands, that he intends to re-introduce a severance tax in this year's budget address.

His plan also ought to include legislation to protect water supplies that can be compromised if drilling companies do not follow specific rules.

More than 800 Marcellus wells now operate in Pennsylvania. That number is expected to shoot up in the years ahead.

The gas rush is on. Drillers expect to make a sizable profit from the state's natural gas reserves. A severance tax will help ensure that the state benefits from the drilling as well.