Law unfairly gave shale drillers 'special' treatment, Pa. Supreme Court rules [View all]

[modrepub]

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided that Act 13, the state Legislature's 2012 attempt to accommodate the shale gas industry, is an unconstitutional "special law" that benefits specific groups or industries.

The court, in a decision Wednesday, said Act 13's provisions limiting notification of spills and leaks to public water suppliers but not to private well owners, and its "physician gag order" restricting health-care professionals from getting information about drilling chemicals that could harm their patients, violate the state constitution's prohibition against special laws.

The court also struck down the provision that allows companies involved in transporting, selling, or storing natural gas to seize privately owned subsurface property through eminent domain.

And the decision prohibits the Public Utility Commission from reviewing local ordinances and withholding impact-fee payments from municipalities that limit shale gas drilling.

"The decision is another historic vindication for the people's constitutional rights," said Jordan Yeager, lead counsel representing the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Bucks County municipalities in the case. "The court has made a clear declaration that the Pennsylvania legislature cannot enact special laws that benefit the fossil fuel industry and injure the rest of us."


Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/energy/20160929_Law_unfairly_gave_shale_drillers__special__treatment__Pa__Supreme_Court_rules.html