The following editorial was published in the Observer-Reporter on May 23, 2023 which publishes in the heart of the conventional oil and gas drilling industry in Washington and Greene counties--

Breathe easy. The state constitution’s Environmental Rights Amendment is not a gratuitous statement.

Rather, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has found, the amendment is an invaluable and enforceable provision that empowers the state government to protect all Pennsylvanians’ right to clean air, water and more.

The 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.”

That intentionally is a broad mandate, so it makes sense that Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations protecting the environment also must be broad.

One such regulation, adopted in 2016, requires drillers and the DEP to consider “the impact of a well permit on public resources including parks, forests, game lands, scenic rivers, natural landmarks, habitats of rare and endangered species … and other critical communities, historical and archaeological sites and drinking water sources.”

An industry trade association, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, quickly filed a lawsuit arguing that, despite the constitutional mandate to protect the environment, the DEP did not have authority under a specific law to implement the regulations.

The Commonwealth Court ruled partially in favor of the drillers in 2019, leading to the state government’s appeal that the Supreme Court ruled on April 19.

“Unadulterated outdoor recreation space is a basic component of quality of life and encompassed in the broadly defined values of the environment protected by the … Environmental Rights Amendment. … An unconventional gas well near spaces used by the public for recreational purposes could threaten the ambient air quality and cause significant noise pollution,” the justices ruled.

They also found that “public resources” need not be publicly owned, citing as an example the Frank Lloyd Wright architectural masterpiece Fallingwater in Fayette County.

With the administration’s regulatory authority affirmed, Gov. Josh Shapiro should implement recommendations by a state grand jury that he empaneled as attorney general in 2018.

It found in 2020 that the state government systemically had failed to oversee the drilling industry in the public interest, and recommended mandatory disclosure of all chemicals used in fracking, expanded drilling buffer zones in sensitive areas, comprehensive public health assessments near drilling sites, and more.

That would ensure that environmental quality remains a right rather than a luxury.

Related NewsClips:

-- Warren Times Editorial: Keeping A Natural Lifeline Pure With Environmental Rights Amendment - Environmental Quality A Right Not A Luxury [The Heart Of The Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Industry]  [PaEN]

-- Observer-Reporter Editorial: Court Drills Down On Environment - Environmental Quality A Right Not A Luxury [The Heart Of The Unconventional Shale Gas Drilling Industry]  [PaEN] 

-- Citizens Voice Editorial: PA Supreme Court Reaffirms Environmental Quality Is A Right Not A Luxury In Shale Gas Drilling Ruling   [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 20 to 26; DEP Issues More NOVs For Conventional Well Abandonments  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - May 27   [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 63 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 27 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Democrats On House Environmental Committee Report Out Bill To Help Prevent The Routine Abandonment Of 561 Conventional Oil/Gas Wells A Year  [PaEN]

-- Citizens Voice Editorial: Renew Bonds To Close, Cleanup Conventional Oil, Gas Wells  [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Hold Conventional Oil/Gas Industry Responsible For Capping Wells

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Meets June 15 On Water Withdrawal Projects, Including 12 Related To Shale Natural Gas Drilling  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 36 Shale Gas Well Drilling Pad Water Use Permits In Bradford, Clearfield, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wyoming Counties  [PaEN]

-- DEP Signs Consent Order Including $10 Million In Penalties, Local Payments With Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County To Resolve Air Quality Violations; Plant To Restart May 24  [PaEN]

-- Things Are Different In The House: Hearing On Hydrogen Hubs Became ‘Democracy’ vs. ‘Open Mic Night’  [PaEN]

-- Observer-Reporter Editorial: Court Drills Down On Environment - Environmental Quality A Right Not A Luxury [The Heart Of The Unconventional Shale Gas Drilling Industry]  [PaEN] 

-- Warren Times Editorial: Keeping A Natural Lifeline Pure With Environmental Rights Amendment - Environmental Quality A Right Not A Luxury [The Heart Of The Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Industry]  [PaEN]

-- Citizens Voice Editorial: PA Supreme Court Reaffirms Environmental Quality Is A Right Not A Luxury In Shale Gas Drilling Ruling   [PaEN]

[Posted: May 25, 2023]

5/29/2023