Kutztown, June 30: \u00a0Thanks to language inserted into the Fiscal Code bill (SB 1263) that was just passed into law by the PA House, Bucks and Montgomery counties are exempted from Act 13, the controversial law that strips municipalities of local control over gas drilling operations everywhere else in the state. \u201cWe are outraged that the counties where the Department of Environmental Protection\u2019s chief and the Lt. Governor live are receiving this special treatment,\u201d says Karen Feridun, founder of Berks Gas Truth, the grassroots community organization leading a campaign in Berks County to ask municipalities to pass resolutions opposing the law.<\/p>\n
a<\/span><\/p>\n Senator Chuck McIlhinney (R-Bucks, Montgomery) got the exemption added to the bill even though he voted for Act 13 earlier this year. His lack of understanding of the law he had helped pass was evident in an op-ed he wrote the day after the law was enacted. \u201cAs we worked to craft a compromise, protecting the environment and preserving local zoning control were two of my primary concerns. The final legislation accomplished these goals<\/strong>, earning the support of Pennsylvania Association of Township Supervisors, other local government organizations and the state\u2019s Growing Greener Coalition. While not perfect, it is a balanced and thoughtful approach to protecting our environment and regulating an industry that is here to stay in Pennsylvania. It does not affect Bucks County\u2019s townships, like Nockamixon Township. <\/strong>It would only pertain to non-conventional wells.\u201d When he learned that the law removes local control over all gas drilling operations, including those related to pipelines, compressor stations, waste disposal and others, he vowed to amend the law, but appeared to take no action. The announcement from the U.S. Geological Survey last week that the South Newark Basin that covers much of both counties is rich in shale gas prompted him to get the language into the Fiscal Code bill at the eleventh hour.<\/p>\n a<\/span><\/p>\n According to the exemption stated in the bill, the Department of Environmental Protection is not allowed to issue well permits until \u201ca study is completed by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, in consultation with the municipalities located in the South Newark Basin, evaluating the practical resource recovery implications of the report under subsection (A) and the fiscal impact of oil and gas operations on the South Newark Basin.\u201d The report referred to is the USGS report<\/a> issued last week. \u201cStudies are not being conducted before drilling begins anywhere else in the state, including here in Berks County where we are in the Utica Shale,\u201d says Feridun, \u201dnor are studies being conducted on the potential impacts of the pipeline operations already coming here.\u201d<\/p>\n a<\/span><\/p>\n Representatives of Berks Gas Truth have been attending municipal meetings across the county, encouraging local leaders to pass resolutions opposing Act 13 and supporting a lawsuit that was filed by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network calling the law unconstitutional. The Commonwealth Court granted an injunction in April and has already heard testimony on the issues.<\/p>\n a<\/span><\/p>\n To date, Kutztown Borough, Lower Alsace Township, Mt. Penn Borough, Alsace Township, and West Reading Borough have passed resolutions. Another municipality has already committed to passing a resolution at its July meeting and several other are considering it. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard from some municipalities that they have been discouraged from passing resolutions by the PSATS (Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors). We find it hard to believe that a group representing municipal officials would discourage them from fighting to maintain local control, especially over operations as dangerous as those related to drilling,\u201d says Feridun. \u201cPSATS has come under fire<\/a> for its role in the passage of Act 13.\u201d<\/p>\n a<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBy its vote, the PA legislature made it clear that it understands that gas drilling brings with it risks that should be considered by the state and the municipalities involved before it can commence.\u00a0 Today\u2019s vote is a vote against the draconian restrictions in Act 13. This admission by our state legislators should encourage all municipalities in the state to fight to overturn this dreadful law.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kutztown, June 30: \u00a0Thanks to language inserted into the Fiscal Code bill (SB 1263) that was just passed into law by the PA House, Bucks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=534"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":536,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions\/536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}