Court Strikes Down Local Zoning Provisions of Act 13

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Thursday struck down portions of the state's newly enacted legislation governing Marcellus Shale operations—also known as Act 13—as unconstitutional.

The 54-page opinion filed by President Judge Dan Pellegrini states:

"Petitioners allege that they have close to 150 unconventional Marcellus Shale wells drilled within their borders, and Act 13 prevents them from fulfilling their constitutional and statutory obligations to protect the health, safety and welfare of their citizens, as well as public natural resources from the industrial activity of oil and gas drilling. Petitioners allege that Act 13 requires them to modify many of their zoning laws."

The petitioners, which included a cluster of western Pennsylvania municipalities—the Council —an environmental group and a medical doctor, asked the court to throw out portions of the zoning regulations under Act 13—and it did.

"We grant Petitioners' Motion for Summary Relief, declare 58 Pa C.S. §3304 unconstitutional and null and void, and permanently enjoin the Commonwealth from enforcing it," the order reads.

Reached for comment on Thursday morning,  solicitor John Smith—who handled the group challenge—said, "I think it's a great day for local government and a great day for Pennsylvania."

Smith added, "Our system of checks and balances worked. The Legislature overstepped, and the court did its job declaring portions of Act 13 as unconstitutional."

Cecil Supervisor Andy Schrader, who was a proponent of the Act 13 challenge, said, "I think the whole purpose of this challenge was to protect our residents, and with this ruling, it will give us some legal standing under our zoning laws to do that. That's what this was all about for me."

(D-Cecil), who vehemently opposed portions of Act 13, said, "This is obviously a huge victory for those of us who want to see Marcellus Shale developed responsibly.

"Hopefully, now. we can stop the bullying and the buying of influence and truly work together to develop a responsible approach that will allow development of Marcellus Shale while creating a culture of true accountability and responsibility.

"Today's decision reaffirms that our constitutional protections are not for sale."

State Rep. Martin Michael Schmotzer, of Whitehall, whose 22nd Legislative District includes all of and part of Whitehall, said, "This is a major victory for people in my district, which is the site of drilling operations, and across western Pennsylvania. Our cities, boroughs and townships have regained the right to have common-sense restrictions on drilling to protect the health and safety of their residents."

Click here to read the entire court opinion.

This article originally appeared on the .

 ---

Follow the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch on Facebook and Twitter.

Sign up for the daily Baldwin-Whitehall newsletter.