My perception - Not MY professional Opinion
Posted for Informational Purposes Only and as a place holder for me to review. It does look like a case that is based on a conceptual ordinance that was deemed to be inconsistent with the Municipal Planning Code and authority given to municipalities by the PA.
Posted for Informational Purposes Only and as a place holder for me to review. It does look like a case that is based on a conceptual ordinance that was deemed to be inconsistent with the Municipal Planning Code and authority given to municipalities by the PA.
Counsel for Petitioners: John M. Smith, Esq., 724-745-5121;
Jonathan M. Kamin, Esq., 412-281-1119;
Jordan B. Yeager, Esq., 267-898-0570;
William A. Johnson, Esq., 724-225-3955
Maya van Rossum, the Delaware
Riverkeeper 215-369-1188 x102 (rings cell & office)
Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, DRN
(o) 215-369-1188x104 (c) 215-692-2329
Pennsylvania Court Petitioned to Stop Act 13
Municipalities, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and a
Physician File Lawsuit
Based on Unconstitutionality of Act 13; Injunction
Sought
Harrisburg,
PA – Seven municipalities, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and Dr.
Mehernosh Khan filed a legal pleading in Commonwealth Court today challenging
Act 13, also known as HB1950, which was signed into law by Governor Corbett on
February 14, 2012. The municipalities are: Township of Robinson, Washington
County; Township of Nockamixon, Bucks County; Township of South Fayette,
Allegheny County; Peters Township, Washington County; Township of Cecil,
Washington County; Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County; and the Borough
of Yardley Bucks County. Act 13 amends the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act,
preempting municipal zoning of oil and gas development. It also establishes an
impact fee on natural gas. The plaintiffs are challenging the new law on the
grounds it violates the Pennsylvania and United States Constitutions and
endangers public health, natural resources, communities and the environment.
“The Petition for Review in the Nature of a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment
and Injunctive Relief” was filed today in Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg;
the docket number is 284-MD-2012. Read and
download the Petition at (it is in two parts, due to large size file):
The lawsuit details
how the constitutional rights of all citizens of the Commonwealth are
egregiously infringed upon by Act 13. The legal filing explains how the law
strips away constitutional rights and violates equal protection principles;
illegally benefits the oil and gas industry who are basically put in charge of
future land use in the state; extinguishes all existing zoning and planning by
permitting oil and gas operations anywhere in a municipality (including
residential neighborhoods, by schools, hospitals, and day care centers, and
sensitive natural and public resources); deprives municipal officials of
carrying out their legally-binding duty to protect air, water, and natural
environmental values as agents and trustees of the Commonwealth; prevents
municipal officials from serving and protecting their jurisdictions through
encouraging beneficial and compatible uses and planning through the
Municipalities Planning Code, making predictable and comprehensive planning an
exception rather than the rule; perverts the Commonwealth’s Police Powers by
forcing oil and gas activities into municipalities through a state-mandated
ordinance that does not serve the public health, safety, morality and general
welfare interests of the community; economically devastates municipalities
through sanctions and unreasonable unfunded demands; among other violations.
As stated in the
Petition: “By attempting to preempt and supersede local regulation of oil and
gas operations, the Pennsylvania General Assembly, through Act 13, has assumed
the power to zone for oil and gas operations, which is manifested through the
promulgation of a uniform set of land-use regulations governing oil and gas
operations throughout the Commonwealth. By crafting a single set of statewide
zoning rules applicable to oil and gas drilling throughout the Commonwealth, the
Pennsylvania General Assembly provided much sought-after predictability for the
oil and gas development industry. However, it did so at the expense of the
predictability afforded to Petitioners and the citizens of Pennsylvania whose
health, safety and welfare, community development objectives, zoning districts
and concerns regarding property values were pushed aside to elevate the
interests of out-of-state oil and gas companies and the owners of hydrocarbons
underlying each property, who are frequently not the surface owners.” (Petition,
page 4)
Jordan Yeager, Esq., representing Nockamixon
Township and Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said, “Harrisburg sold out the
citizens of the Commonwealth. Harrisburg sold out our locally elected municipal
governments. Harrisburg sold out our state’s precious water resources, our
agricultural soils, the clean air we need to survive. We’re asking the court to
say what we all know to be true: Harrisburg went too
far.”
"Act 13 must be challenged since it is
unconstitutional and unfair, which is why Delaware Riverkeeper Network is
joining forces with municipalities to overturn it. Among the many wrongs we're
fighting is the violation of Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania
Constitution -- municipalities are being stripped
of their ability to protect public natural resources like water and air. By
depriving municipal elected officials of their ability to use zoning and
community decisionmaking to protect precious natural resources, schools, hospitals and homes from damaging industrial practices,
and to ensure the rights of everyone are honored and protected, this law has
undermined the very fabric of municipal and constitutional law in the
Commonwealth. As a result, our water, air, kids and communities will be
subjected to more pollution and degradation from gas development," said Maya van
Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper and co-plaintiff in the case.
The filing today is expected to be filed by a
request for a preliminary injunction, aimed at keeping Act 13’s zoning provision
from going into effect on April 14, 2012.
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Note = I know there are webinars planned on this HB1950
Attend the Webinar and Get the Facts (PADEP Webinar Act 13)
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