HARRISBURG — Lawyers for two state agencies are asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reconsider a recent decision striking down key components of a state law that regulates natural gas drilling.
The Public Utility Commission and Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday filed a motion with the justices, saying parts of the court's main opinion need additional evidence and that they should take another look at how much of the law stays in force.
“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court made its own sweeping factual findings regarding the impact of Act 13, none of which finds any support in the sparse and uneven factual record that was made before Commonwealth Court,” said James D. Schultz, general counsel to Gov. Tom Corbett. “The Supreme Court's decision is a stunning departure from the historical practice of that Court, and an unrestrained venture into a fact-finding role that the Court always has insisted is not its proper place in the judicial system.”
Lawyers for those who successfully sued to challenge the law say they will oppose the Corbett administration's request.
The justices last month threw out significant portions of the law, which instituted impact fees and limited the power of local governments to determine where the gas industry can operate.
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