Earlier this week MDN told you that a judge refused to sanction a lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers Association (PIPP) against implementation of new rules and changes to existing rules known as Chapters 78 & 78a (see PA Conventional Drillers File Lawsuit to Stop New DEP Regulations). The judges action cleared the way for the new rules to be voted on by the PA Independent Regulatory Review Commission, or IRRC (see Judge Won’t Grant Request to Stop Adoption of New PA Drilling Regs). The IRRC voted yesterday to approve the new rules. The three Democrat members of the commission voted in favor of adopting the rules, while the two Republicans on the commission voted against. The three liberal Dems followed orders from PA’s anti-drilling Governor, Tom Wolf, even though “Independent” is in the name of the commission. Tell us again how shale drilling is not a partisan issue? We have a variety of news reports on the seven hour hearing, along with what happens next and an excellent analysis of yesterday’s vote from a top energy attorney…
