Big Fracking Driller challenges local township's buffer zone re hospitals, schools!

[Divernan]

Here's how Big Fracking will bully local governments and drive YOUR property taxes up by the huge legal costs of local governments defending suits. If Range Resources is successful (and the costs of following this suit through the courts to the PA. Supreme Court would be nothing to huge Range Resources, but budget breaking to a small township), the case would set a precedent blocking local governments in the state from setting higher standards than Corbett's state agencies.

It's been years since I worked on it, but my recollection of the Pennsylvania's Statewide Building Code was that it was adopted as a de minimus set of regulations, and local governments could set stricter standards.

Marcellus driller sues South Fayette over limits
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
By Erich Schwartzel, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Range Resources took the first step today in challenging the wave of small-town regulations for natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, submitting a challenge to the zoning board of South Fayette that calls its drilling ordinance an "illegal" infraction against its business pursuits.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based driller with major local holdings says the South Fayette regulation attempts to enforce regulations that are already in place as part of the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act, and that regulatory double-dipping is illegal.

Local communities like South Fayette have embraced conditional use ordinances, which require every site to undergo an approval process prior to drilling. Energy companies say the paperwork makes as much sense as requiring a new drivers' license in every town, and that the process impedes predictability in a supply chain that plans years in advance.

Range Resources owns mineral rights for approximately 4,000 acres in South Fayette. While the South Fayette ordinance is not an all-out ban on drilling in the township, Range Resources said the buffer zones enforced around schools, hospitals and certain commercial areas have negated the entire township.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Erich Schwartzel: [e-mail] or 412-263-1455.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11228/1167708-100.stm#ixzz1VEyfM0Im
The Post Gazette promises more details in tomorrow's paper.

[JPZenger]

1. Clarification

Just to clarify, this challenge involves a local zoning ordinance, not building codes. A municipality cannot adopt tougher building codes than state regs. A municipality, within reason, can adopt stricter zoning codes for gas wells, as long as they allow reasonable opportunities for the wells in the municipality. For example, a municipality can keep wells out of dense residential areas. However, a zoning ordinance is limited in how it can regulate matters that are regulated by the state.

[Divernan]

2. You are right, and I understand the difference.

What I meant to highlight was that local government entities can share oversight with state government. I believe the Frackers' lawyer tried to make the specious argument that for these two levels of government to share control over drilling would be analagous to local government units issuing their own drivers' licenses.