PA Supreme Court Declares Parts of Marcellus Law Unconstitutional

Yesterday (Thursday, December 19) the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared a major provision of the state's Act 13 unconstitutional. Act 13 was signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett nearly two years ago and allowed gas companies to drill anywhere, overriding local zoning laws. Provisions in the law also prevented doctors and other health professionals from advising patients whose health was affected by gas drilling activities.

In his 162-page opinion for the court, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille noted that the law, Act 13, violated the  Environmental Rights Amendment to Pennsylvania's state constitution. That amendment states:

The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.

Thomas Linzey, the Executive Director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) based in Mercersburg, PA, told the press that the ruling is "a significant victory for municipalities seeking to regulate the placement of oil and gas wells and other structures on the surface of land." While the Supreme Court ruling doesn't prohibit fracking, it does support zoning of surface uses.

You can read the entire decision here. More about the court's decision here.

What is Act 13, Anyway?

Why is everyone in Pennsylvania so obsessed with "Act 13? What is it, anyway? 

You can find out - and learn more about the recent court decisions next week. On Thursday, August 9 Penn State Extension will be hosting a special webinar called “A Blow to Act 13?: The Impact of the Commonwealth Court’s Decision on Local Zoning and Natural Gas Development in Pennsylvania”. the webinar goes from 1 - 2 pm and us open to the public though, noted Penn State Ext, it will "be of special interest to municipal officials and attorneys".

Last week a Pennsylvania appellate court rejected the Pennsylvania legislature’s pre-emption of significant elements of local zoning under Act 13. The ruling has been appealed to the State Supreme Court, but municipal officials and others are uncertain about the immediate impact of the decision.  Attorney Steve Saunders with Saunders Law LLC in Scranton PA will look at traditional zoning in Pennsylvania and oil and gas development before and after Act 13, the legal arguments presented to the Commonwealth Court, and the Court’s rationale for its decision.  Possible outcomes and how local governments should react will be discussed.

To participate in the webinar, please log in to https://meeting.psu.edu/pscems/ .  No registration is necessary. If you have questions, please contact Carol Loveland at cal24@psu.edu or call (570) 433-3040.