PA Supreme Court Upholds Decision Allowing Drilling in All Districts Under a Local Zoning Ordinance as Long as They Meet Standards -
"This case is one of several recent decisions in Commonwealth Court and the PA Supreme Court involving challenges to local zoning ordinances regulating drilling based at least in part on the state's Environmental Rights Amendment."
Why this is important: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied an appeal of a Commonwealth Court decision that upheld a municipal ordinance allowing oil and gas well drilling outside of industrial zoning districts. In short, Allegheny Township approved a permit for CNX Gas to drill an unconventional well on Westmoreland County farmland zoned for agricultural/residential use. The lawsuit involved the interplay between local zoning authority, the Commonwealth's Oil and Gas Act, and the Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution....
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