Troubling Win in PA Court Victory that Allows State Land Drilling

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Last week MDN told you about the crushing defeat of the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF) in one of the their many lawsuits to stop drilling in PA (see PA Court Rules to Allow More Leasing/Drilling of State-Owned Land). What’s kind of funny about it is that the very case they sought to win–the Act 13 case that allows local towns to impose their own zoning on drilling–was used against the PEDF in the decision. Citing the “Robinson” case some 16 times, the Commonwealth Court told the PEDF that yes, the state can lease state land for drilling and yes, the General Assembly can decide how and where they want to spend the money such activity raises. Even though the outcome (for pro-drillers) was a positive, the way the court got there–using the Robinson decision–is troubling for the Marcellus industry…

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