An oil and gas trade group that thinks the Department of Environmental Protection is overstepping its authority in how it issues drilling permits is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to take up the matter.
The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association, based in Wexford, wants permission to intervene in a lawsuit that in December 2013 struck down certain parts of Act 13, the state's framework governing oil and gas development.
The lawsuit was brought by several municipalities that were unhappy with how Act 13 tied their hands in regulating where wells were located.
The Supreme Court, in agreeing with the plaintiffs, also invalidated a portion of Act 13 that governs how the DEP evaluates permits.
Yet PIOGA contends the agency continues to rely on some of requirements in the struck down section, such as giving consideration to wells' effects on public resources and special species, in reviewing current well permit applications. That, PIOGA says, is illegal.
The petition, filed on Friday, asks the court to acknowledge PIOGA as a stakeholder, which would then allow the group to present its arguments over DEP's actions.
“PIOGA has tried two other times to intervene in this case and the courts have rejected them each time,” said Jordan Yeager, a partner with Philadelphia-based Curtin & Heefner LLP who represented the townships in the case. “There is no legitimate reason for a third bite at the apple.”
Beyond that, Mr. Yeager said said “PIOGA is complaining that DEP is requiring drillers to abide [by] what are really very minimal standards. DEP has a constitutional obligation to hold drillers to those standards and to even stricter standards. PIOGA should respect our constitutional rights and let DEP do its job.”
In a statement announcing the filing, PIOGA's vice president and general counsel Kevin Moody said the group was forced to take legal action because the DEP “simply ignored the court's determination” and is using an invalidated section of Act 13 to make decisions “as if the court's ruling does not exist.”
Anya Litvak: alitvak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1455.
First Published: June 19, 2015, 9:30 p.m.
Updated: June 20, 2015, 3:18 a.m.
