Pike County

The lawsuit filed by a Wayne County, PA landowner against the egregious overreach by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to stall/delay/block any shale drilling within the Basin takes a very important step forward today. It’s a step feared by the DRBC and radical groups like THE Delaware Riverkeeper–because this case has the real potential to neuter the DRBC’s claim it can block shale drilling in the watershed. In March, MDN reported that U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani ruled against the Wayne Land and Mineral Group in a lawsuit that challenged the right of the DRBC to stop fracking in the Delaware River Basin (see Judge Tosses Wayne County, PA Landowner Lawsuit Against DRBC). At first blush it may seem like a setback for landowners in Wayne and Pike Counties (in PA) who have been denied the right to lease and allow drilling under their land for the past 10+ years. But looks can be deceiving. As we pointed out in our article, if you read the judge’s decision, he harpoons all of the DRBC’s legal arguments, but in the end rules against the landowner. Why? Because the judge wanted to send the case to a higher court for an ultimate decision–the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. In June, the Wayne Land and Mineral Group filed their brief with the 3rd Circuit (see Wayne County Landowner Files Brief in Case Against DRBC Frack Ban). Today, oral arguments will be heard in what we sincerely hope is the beginning of the end of the DRBC’s illegal frack ban…
Read More “Landowner Fight to Overturn DRBC Frack Ban Goes to Fed Court Today”

Landowners in Wayne (and Pike) counties in northeastern Pennsylvania are not going to stand by and allow their property rights to be stripped away from them. Two weeks ago the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), which has had an ongoing, “temporary” ban on fracking within the Delaware River Basin since 2010, voted to begin the process of implementing a permanent ban (see Governors from PA-NY-DE Vote to Ban Fracking in Dela. River Basin). That has folks like Wayne County dairy farmer Brian Smith hopping mad. He said if the DRBC bans fracking, “people will fight for their property rights like they’ve never fought before.” DRBC spokesman Clarke Rupert is asking the public to “not prejudge the proposed rules,” which is a joke. What he means is, “Lay down and let us kill your property rights, and don’t say anything while we do it.” Landowners in NEPA are not about to let that happen. Good for them…
Read More “Wayne Landowners Will “Fight Like Never Before” to Stop DRBC Ban”

As MDN reported, last week U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani ruled against a Wayne County landowner in a lawsuit that challenged the right of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to stop fracking in the Delaware River Basin (see Judge Tosses Wayne County, PA Landowner Lawsuit Against DRBC). At first blush this may see like a setback for landowners in Wayne and Pike Counties who have been denied the right to lease and allow drilling under their land for the past 10 years. But looks can be deceiving. As we pointed out in our article, if you read the judge’s decision, he harpoons all of the DRBC’s legal arguments, but in the end rules against the landowner. Why? Because that judge wanted to send this case to a higher court for an ultimate decision–the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. In fact, Judge Mariani set up the appeal of the case perfectly, we’d say intentionally, and that has the DRBC and their cohorts at THE Delaware Riverkeeper really nervous. It also has the Wayne Land and Minerals Group, the plaintiff in the case, really happy. MDN friend Tom Shepstone (Natural Gas Now) does a superb job of analyzing Mariani’s decision, and in predicting where things will (rapidly) go from here…
Read More “Wayne Co. Landowner Welcomes Decision in Dismissed DRBC Lawsuit”

In May 2016 a landowner in Wayne County, PA–in the Delaware River Basin–filed a lawsuit against the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) asking a judge to declare the DRBC does not have jurisdiction to prevent construction of a natural gas well (see Wayne County, PA Landowner Sues DRBC Over Fracking Ban). MDN has chronicled, for years, the lawless actions of the DRBC in seizing power it does not have to block shale drilling in essentially two PA counties where measurable quantities of shale gas could be extracted: Wayne County and Pike County. DRBC’s former director, Carol Collier, is a hardened anti-driller who colluded with Josh Fox in making his infamous propaganda film Gasland. Collier is gone and it was thought her replacement, Steve Tambini would bring some order and sense to the organization (see DRBC Selects Steve Tambini as New Leader, Enviro Groups Unsure). Unfortunately that hasn’t happened–so far. The DRBC has blocked drilling since it considered rules for drilling in 2010, when it put a “temporary” ban in place. A Wayne County landowner argued in the lawsuit that oil and gas wells, under the DRBC’s charter, do not constitute a “project” that is regulated by the DRBC and therefore are exempt from oversight from the DRBC. Last week U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani disagreed and ruled against the landowner (copy of his ruling below). However, this may not be “bad news” for landowners and “good news” for the DRBC, as it may first appear, on the surface…
Read More “Judge Tosses Wayne County, PA Landowner Lawsuit Against DRBC”