State leaders move swiftly to appeal court decision striking parts of new gas drilling law
A legal fight over local control of gas drilling operations has landed in the state Supreme Court's lap, with two state Cabinet officials filing an appeal on the day after a state and industry defeat in Commonwealth Court.
State leaders, as expected, appealed on Friday a decision that struck down parts of Act 13, the sweeping overhaul of oil and gas laws that lawmakers passed in February to address the shale drilling boom.
A decision from the state Supreme Court will settle how much the state can limit municipal rights to control when and where drilling can happen, experts and officials said.
“This (Commonwealth Court) decision endangers the jobs of tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians and deprives citizens of their property rights,” Gov. Tom Corbett said in a statement. “The provisions struck down by the Commonwealth Court are critically important for job creators, landowners and local governments.”
The preliminary filings outlined no arguments but broadly questioned the judges' decision. The appeal came from the chairman of the Public Utility Commission and the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, who head two of several state agencies sued by municipalities challenging Act 13.
The Attorney General's Office plans to file an appeal on behalf of the state on Monday, Corbett spokesman Eric Shirk said.
“We're prepared to handle this,” said John M. Smith, the plaintiffs' lead attorney and solicitor for Cecil and Robinson in Washington County. “The Commonwealth Court recognized that portions of Act 13 had the potential to injure property rights, not protect them. Regardless, while jobs are important, there's no industry or law that gets a pass from constitutional oversight.”
South Fayette, Mt. Pleasant and Peters, among others, joined in challenging the law.
The ruling did not affect new fees the law placed on drillers or the vast majority of toughened environmental standards that are part of Act 13.
The dispute between state leaders and suburban residents and officials has simmered for more than a year around issues of local control. Municipalities have long had control over land-use planning to protect homes and schools, for instance, from industrial activity, but gas drilling companies have pushed state leaders to limit that control in favor of uniform rules statewide.
Commonwealth Court's 4-3 ruling said the state's gas law violated municipal rights by mandating that industrial sites be allowed to work under industrial standards in residential areas.
Municipal planning is in limbo until the Supreme Court decides, said Joshua R. Lorenz, a lawyer and Murrysville councilman. State agencies are on hold, too, about how to apply some parts of the law, said Patrick Henderson, the governor's energy executive.
Everyone is hoping for an expedited hearing with the Supreme Court, said Drew Crompton, chief of staff for Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati.
The fee and the higher environmental standards the law created would cost more for the industry, but in return companies would have consistent standards to help their planning, Henderson added.
“I'm sure we all feel like kind of the same way that Patrick did, that this was all part of a package,” said Terry Bossert, who oversees environment and regulatory affairs for Chief Oil & Gas LLC in Pennsylvania. “I don't think we're very happy that municipalities, even municipalities that are in effect trying to zone us out, are trying to get money from us. But I don't see any groundswell to say we're going to try to get rid of the impact fee.”
Timothy Puko is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7991 or tpuko@tribweb.com.
