By Elizabeth Skrapits
Would local officials be powerless to stop a natural gas company from drilling a natural gas well in the middle of a housing development?
Not according to a new state court ruling, which affirms the right of municipal and county officials to limit natural gas drilling to certain districts, such as agricultural, mining or manufacturing, and out of residential neighborhoods.
Three new court decisions were outlined by attorney Jeffrey Malak during a recent meeting of the Back Mountain Community Partnership in Luzerne County.
The latest decision, Penneco Oil Co. Inc. v. the County of Fayette, “…opens up the floodgates and says municipal zoning is not pre-empted” by the state Oil and Gas Act, Mr. Malak said. The case was decided in Commonwealth Court on July 22.
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Related reading:
Lessons from Dimock, PA: Calling for a Moratorium on Natural Gas Drilling in New York
The Huffington Post (3 Aug 10)
