PA Environment Digest

The Corbett Administration this week circulated language to implement its proposed county-adopted drilling fee and to tighten environmental protection requirements around Marcellus Shale drilling they announced earlier this month.
The language includes a provision not included in the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission recommendations to eliminate all regulation of any oil and gas well by local governments, except under the provisions of the state Floodplain Management Act.

Existing authority in the Oil and Gas Act allows local governments to regulate drilling as a land use under the Municipalities Planning Code, giving them the ability to adopt requirements such as setbacks from other land uses, controlling highway access to drilling sites and other measures to avoid conflicts with existing residential and businesses uses.

Update: The draft language does include a new Section 202 giving municipalities hosting a well a new opportunity to raise local conditions which should be brought to the attention of DEP on individual well permit applications. DEP may take the comments into consideration in issuing a permit. The new language also says there is no right of appeal of the permit application after a decision is made.

The Governor's legislative language does include the majority of the recommendations from the Advisory Commission, but a comparison of the Advisory Commission recommendations and the language circulated by the Governor's Office also found--

-- The recommendation to identify areas of high ecological value was not included;

-- No language directing DEP to incorporate best management practices into regulations and operator guidance;

-- No requirement DEP implement best management practices in high quality or exceptional value watersheds; and

Click Here for the Environmental Protection language circulated by the Governor's Office. Click Here for the county fee language circulated by the Governor's Office.

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