Litigation

Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County

Shale Gas Mineral Rights Case Appealed to PA Supreme Court
October 12, 2011October 12, 2011

We have a new development in the ongoing case from Susquehanna County, PA where a lower court upheld the “Dunham rule” declaring oil and gas are not part of mineral rights. The Dunham rule, a PA law precedent that’s been in place since 1882, was challenged by PA Superior Court (see this MDN story), threatening to overturn dozens if not hundreds of leases and deeds in Pennsylvania. The landowners in the case have now appealed directly to the PA State Supreme Court in an effort to lay this to rest and have the Dunham rule upheld.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Washington County

Western PA Township Wins Right to Put Ban on Nov. Ballot
October 4, 2011October 4, 2011

Those opposed to drilling will get a measure to ban shale gas drilling put on the ballot in Peters Township (Washington County, PA) this fall. A judge has just ruled in favor of the Peters Township Marcellus Shale Awareness Group to have the measure put on the election ballot for Nov 8. See this MDN story about the group, their motivation (calling sustainable energy a “right”) and the wording of the ballot measure.

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Otsego County | Statewide NY

Middlefield, NY Lawsuit: The Town’s Counterargument
September 27, 2011September 27, 2011

MDN recently reported about two lawsuits filed (so far) in New York State that will set precedent in the state on the issue of whether or not local municipalities (i.e. townships) can ban gas drilling altogether within their borders.

One of those lawsuits, filed against the Town of Middlefield in Otsego County, was filed by landowner Jennifer Huntington (see the MDN story here). Her lawsuit says the town’s ban violates state law which stipulates only the state can regulate oil and gas drilling. The key word there is “regulate.”

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Chief Gathering | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania

Chief Gathering Counter-Sues 3 Families in Luzerne County, PA
September 23, 2011September 23, 2011

In a country with a proud tradition of free speech and open dissent, there is a line that can be crossed. That line is called libel and slander, and it’s always been a gray area, most often determined by the courts. We have a new case for the courts to decide related to the Marcellus drilling industry in Luzerne County, PA.

But this is not solely a case of slander. The people accused of slandering pipeline company Chief Gathering first filed a lawsuit themselves in an attempt to use the courts to stop the pipeline. So Chief is fighting back with their own lawsuit seeking to a) have the original lawsuit filed against the pipeline overturned, and b) seeking damages for the (according to Chief) slanderous remarks of the people and their attorney. Chief says their reputation in the community has been wrongly damaged.

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County

Is Marcellus Shale a Mineral? An Important Question in PA
September 22, 2011September 22, 2011

A court case in Pennsylvania may have a chilling effect on Marcellus gas drilling in the state even before it’s finally decided. This is a bit complicated, so buckle up! And be sure to read this post if you own land in PA.

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Warren County | Wastewater

PA Township Sued to Allow Injection Wells for Fracking Fluids
September 20, 2011September 20, 2011

The Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association has filed a lawsuit against Columbus Township in Warren County, PA challenging an ordinance that prohibits disposal of fracking fluids in the township. The fracking fluid ban was passed after the federal EPA approved permits for two underground injection wells to be operated within the township.

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Otsego County | Regulation

Second Lawsuit Filed Against NY Town Challenges Drilling Ban
September 19, 2011September 19, 2011

One day after Anschutz Exploration announced it would file a lawsuit against Dryden, NY (Tompkins County) to overturn a local ban on gas drilling in that township (see MDN story here), another lawsuit against another township in New York State has been filed. This new case was filed by landowner and township resident Jennifer Huntington against the Township of Middlefield in Otsego County. This suit, like the one from Anschutz, says the township has passed what amounts to an illegal law targeting the oil and gas industry, an industry that is specifically regulated by the state according to New York State law. The township’s ban infringes Ms. Huntington’s private property rights as a landowner to allow gas drilling on her land. A copy of the lawsuit is embedded below.

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Anschutz Exploration | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Tompkins County

Driller Sues NY Town to Challenge Local Drilling Ban
September 15, 2011September 15, 2011

Anschutz Exploration this week will file a lawsuit against the Town of Dryden (NY) to strike down the town’s recently passed ban on gas drilling. Dryden is a small township with two villages—Dryden and Freeville—located in Tompkins County, near Ithaca. Its land area is 94.2 square miles with some 13,500 people living there.

In New York, the state reserves the right to regulate the oil and gas industry and, according to state law, local municipalities are restricted to regulating road use with respect to oil and gas drilling. Dryden’s measure banning drilling (passed in August) is, according to the drilling industry, illegal. This lawsuit will challenge it.

Dryden officials argue that the state does not and cannot tell a municipality how it can regulate other industries, and the gas industry should be no different. It is a classical constitutional issue and both sides are watching this one closely.

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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation

Range Resources Fights PA Town Ordinance, Threatens Lawsuit
August 17, 2011August 17, 2011

Range Resources, one of the largest Marcellus Shale drillers in Pennsylvania, and the first to sink a Marcellus well in the state in 2003, is pushing back against what it calls “death by a thousand paper cuts” – townships imposing their own regulations on drilling that result in a de facto ban on drilling. Range has just filed an appeal with the zoning hearing board in South Fayette (Allegheny County), PA challenging the township’s zoning regulations prohibiting drilling. Range says if the hearing board does not reverse course, it will take the township to court. A copy of Range’s 35-page challenge filed with the hearing board is embedded below.

UPDATE: Also embedded below is a full copy of the drilling ordinance passed by South Fayette Township in 2010. Thank you to MDN reader Josh Whetzel for suggesting we include it with this article.

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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Monongalia County | Northeast Natural Energy | Regulation | West Virginia

Morgantown Official Backpedals After Drilling Ban Overturned
August 16, 2011August 16, 2011

It’s always interesting to watch politicians operate after a humiliating defeat. Politicians’ DNA does not allow them to simply look inward and recognize their own errors. They always look outward and blame others, or in some cases, declare the defeat was a good thing and accomplished just what they wanted all along! I refer to the situation in Morgantown, WV. In June, Morgantown City Council members voted to ban hydraulic fracturing both inside and up to one mile outside their borders (see this MDN story). This threatened a pair of Marcellus Shale wells being drilled about a mile from city lines. The result? The driller, Northeast Energy, sued the city. Last week a judge overturned the city’s ban and now hydraulic fracturing will commence (see this MDN story). All told, Northeast probably lost about a month out of their original drilling schedule (they continued drilling anyway, the ban specifically prohibited fracking and not drilling per se).

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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Monongalia County | Northeast Natural Energy | West Virginia

Judge Overturns Morgantown, WV Fracking Ban
August 15, 2011August 15, 2011

For some time now, MDN has covered the hydraulic fracturing ban passed by the city of Morgantown, West Virginia (see list of articles here). In a surprise move last Friday, the Monongalia County (WV) Circuit Court Judge Susan Tucker overturned Morgantown’s fracking ban, clearing the way for Northeast Energy to continue drilling and fracking operations about a mile outside of Morgantown city lines. Judge Tucker’s “summary judgment” is embedded below.

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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | New York | Statewide NY

Chesapeake Threatens NY with Lawsuit on State Land Leases
August 8, 2011August 8, 2011

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) leased 19,000 acres of state forestland to Chesapeake Energy and Fortuna Energy (now Talisman Energy) in 2006 to allow gas drilling. The deal provided state coffers with $9 million and the promise of 12.5 percent royalties on any gas produced. Those leases are due to expire Nov. 15 of this year, but Chesapeake has let the DEC know it believes the leases for its share (15,472 acres) should be extended, a legal phrase called force majeure, because of the moratorium that has been in place since 2008 on hydraulically fractured gas drilling. In a letter to the DEC, Chesapeake implied they will sue the state to extend the lease agreements if the state does not willingly agree to an extension.

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Statewide NY

New Lawsuit Filed in NY Federal Court Attempts to Delay/Prevent Gas Drilling in the Delaware River Basin
August 5, 2011August 5, 2011

Those opposed to Marcellus drilling in New York and Pennsylvania continue to use the court system in an attempt to either delay or outright ban drilling. The latest instance came just yesterday with a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Statewide NY

Federal Government Asks Judge to Dismiss NY Attorney General’s Fracking Lawsuit
August 3, 2011August 3, 2011

On May 31 of this year, NY Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to force the federal government “to commit to a full environmental review of proposed regulations that would allow natural gas drilling – including the potentially harmful "fracking" technique – in the Delaware River Basin” (see MDN’s initial coverage here). That is, AG Schneiderman is attempting to use the court system to delay, and if possible prevent, Marcellus Shale drilling in New York by forcing the federal government to launch a multi-year review of hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin. He bases his lawsuit on the foundation that the Delaware River Basin Commission, a quasi-governmental body, is about to allow drilling in the areas it oversees, including sensitive New York City watershed areas.

According to the federal government, AG Schneiderman does not have a legal foot to stand on with his lawsuit:

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Chief Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Sullivan County

Some Drillers Using Questionable Tactics to Hold Land Under Lease Beyond Original Term
July 25, 2011July 25, 2011

A number of landowners in Pennsylvania signed gas leases with energy companies more than five years ago for very low amounts—$2 per acre in some cases—as a signing bonus. Landowners, realizing that a contract is a contract, waited patiently for the expiration of the lease—typically five years. But then, at the last possible moment, sometimes just hours before the lease is due to expire, the energy company would clear a few trees or park a bulldozer on the land in order to comply with the terms of lease, thereby extending the lease indefinitely because they had “made an effort” to start drilling.

Case in point: Dave and Karen Beinlich. They signed a lease for $2 an acre, for a grand total of $234 signing bonus on their 117 acre farm.

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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Potter County | Tioga County (PA) | Ultra Petroleum

Anti-Drilling Group PennFuture Sues Ultra Resources Claiming Air Pollution from Gas Wells, Compressor Stations and Pipelines
July 22, 2011July 21, 2011

Anti-drilling group PennFuture is suing driller Ultra Resources claiming they are causing air pollution from almost all of their operations. A copy of the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is embedded below.

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