Local Group Challenges New Rules for Gas Industry
Janice Crompton Pittsburgh Post-Gazette August 30, 2012
The leader of the organization representing 1,455 municipalities 44 percent of the states population said his group is openly supporting a contingent of local officials and individuals who are challenging state lawmakers and officials, including the governor, over zoning provisions in the states Act 13, the new law that brought sweeping changes to the Marcellus Shale gas drilling industry.
Now that the courts have made their determination, were standing with that,
PA-Court Maintains Injunction on Contested Provisions of New Energy Law
Ellen M. Gilmer E&E reporter August 15, 2012
Townships in the midst of a legal challenge over thorny provisions in Pennsylvanias oil and gas law breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as judges ruled to maintain a ban on state enforcement of those provisions during the cases ongoing appeal process.
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court initially placed an injunction on enforcement of the contested section of Act 13 during proceedings in April, and last month it ruled in favor of municipalities
PA Officials Seek Expedited Review of Act 13 Appeal
Laura Olson Pittsburgh Post-Gazette July 31, 2012
State officials are seeking a speedy review by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of their appeal to a decision last week overturning statewide zoning for shale gas drilling.
That request, outlined in a legal brief filed on Monday, asks the Supreme Court to hear the case during its October session in Pittsburgh.
Attorney representing the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection are appealing the decision from
PA Court Overturns Act 13 Zoning Rules
Laura Olson & Erich Schwartzel Pittsburgh Post-Gazette July 27, 2012
HARRISBURG A dispute over Pennsylvanias attempt to establish statewide zoning for Marcellus Shale drilling likely is headed to the states top court, after an appellate panel on Thursday overturned the new rules.
Judges on the Commonwealth Court ruled that Pennsylvania cannot require municipalities to allow drilling in areas where it would conflict with their zoning rules, siding with several towns challenging the five-month-old law.
That law enacted
PA Municipality Support for Legal Challenge Growing 67 Municipalities Opposing Act 13
Press Release July 19, 2012
Contact: Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network
As the reality of Pennsylvania’s Act 13 sets in at the local level in Pennsylvania, there is a groundswell of disapproval. In customarily deliberate and carefully considered fashion, municipalities throughout the state are publicly adopting resolutions and sending letters in support of the legal challenge to Act 13, the municipal takeover law that was adopted by the Pennsylvania Legislature and enacted by Governor Corbett’s signature in February
Gas Drilling Moratorium Violated PA Legislative Promises
Michael Macagnone & Angela Couloumbis Philadelphia Inquirer July 11, 2012
HARRISBURG Call it the mystery moratorium.
Just over a week ago, a ban on drilling for natural gas in a little-known rock formation under Bucks and Montgomery counties made its way into Pennsylvania law.
It did so in a way the states oft-maligned legislators had pledged to avoid: at the last minute, with no public hearings and little substantive debate as lawmakers rushed to send
PA Lawmakers Approve Drilling Moratorium for Bucks Montco
Christina Kristofic Phillyburbs.com July 1, 2012
A temporary moratorium has been placed on gas drilling in Bucks and Montgomery counties due to a provision attached to a bill passed in the state Legislature on Saturday.
Bucks County Republicans, led by Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-10, attached the provision to the fiscal code (SB 1263) which six senators from outside Bucks and Montgomery counties opposed. The provision says the state Department of Environmental Protection would not issue permits to drill in the
Late-Added Provision to State Budget Bills Would Temporarily Prevent Drilling in Bucks County
Laura Olson Pittsburgh Post-Gazette June 29, 2012
Suddenly, everyone in Harrisburg is Googling the South Newark Basin.
A late-filed addition to a bill related to the state budget due by midnight tomorrow would temporarily prevent oil and gas drilling permits from being issued for the South Newark Basin, which straddles southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Under the provision, which garnered a House panel vote this evening, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources would have to study implications of drilling
PA Gas Drilling Law Debated in State Court
Laura Olson Pittsburgh Post-Gazette June 7, 2012
HARRISBURG Did the state overreach in its new law outlining where drilling sites and compressor stations can be located, or are municipal officials out of bounds in seeking to retain the ability to manage the industry themselves?
That question is now before a panel of seven Commonwealth Court judges, who spent more than an hour on Wednesday morning firing questions at attorneys dueling over the legality of the states new gas drilling
What You Need To Know About The Act 13 Hearing
Scott Detrow StateImpact Pennsylvania / NPR April 12, 2012
This morning, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court will hear arguments in a lawsuit aimed at stopping Pennsylvania’s new natural gas drilling impact fee from taking effect. Here’s what you need to know about the case.
The Players: Seven municipalities from three counties have filed the lawsuit, along with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and a doctor named Mehernosh Kahn. The municipalities:
•Robinson Township, Washington County
•South Fayette Township, Allegheny County
•Peters Township, Washington County