HMS Legal Blog

Thomas Sniscak of Hawke, McKeon & Sniscak LLP Speaks before a Packed Audience about Marcellus Shale at the Keystone Energy Forum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

January 12, 2017

Thomas J. Sniscak participated as a speaker at the Keystone Energy Forum on January 12, 2017.  He spoke on the many critical issues facing the Marcellus shale industry from both the federal and state levels.  In his presentation Attorney Sniscak addressed the eminent domain and public right-of-way issues related to the siting of pipelines within the Marcellus Shale areas of Pennsylvania.

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PA Supreme Court Further Demolishes Act 13 in Robinson Township Remand Appeal


On September 28, 2016, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Court) ruled[1] on a Commonwealth Court remand decision[2] of the Robinson Township 2013 Court decision,[3] where the Court held key provisions of Act 13[4] (the statute implementing major changes in Pennsylvania’s oil and gas laws and the ability of local government to regulate this industry) were unconstitutional (HMS Blog).  In the 2016 Robinson Township decision, the Court:  (1) upheld the Commonwealth Court’s holding that provisions related to Public Utility Commission (PUC) review of local ordinances are unseverable from unconstitutional provisions and thus unenforceable, and (2) held four additional provisions of Act 13, including the grant of eminent domain, unconstitutional. 

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Despite Drilling Downturn, PA Natural Gas Production Grows


       On August 1, 2016, The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released its 2015 Oil and Gas Annual Report (Report).[1]  In additional to natural gas production details, the Report provides information on natural gas data trends in Pennsylvania and details on DEP inspections.  2015 was a difficult year for the natural gas industry as it faced record inventory levels, declining prices, and decreases in newly drilled wells.[2]  DEP confirms Pennsylvania was not immune to the national downturn in natural gas drilling with only 1,070 newly drilled wells in 2015 – more than a 50% decrease from the 2,163 new wells drilled in 2014.[3]

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PHMSA Proposes Significant New Regulations Regarding Transmission and Gathering Pipelines


            On March 17, 2016 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) released a 549 page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that significantly changes regulations for transmission lines and imposes regulations on previously unregulated gathering lines carrying, inter alia, natural gas and petroleum products. 

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Victory For Sunoco Pipeline in Second Round Before PUC


Public Utility Commission (PUC) Commissioners gave Sunoco Pipeline a fighting chance at exemption from local zoning for outbuildings housing utility structures on the Mariner East Pipeline, finding prima facie evidence that Sunoco is a public utility and overruling the ALJs’ July 23, 2014 Initial Decision granting preliminary objections finding to the contrary. 

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NIMBYs and Environmental Groups Win First Round Before PUC Against Sunoco Pipeline


Sunoco’s proposed Mariner East pipeline that would transport natural gas liquids (NGLs) from Pennsylvania’s rich Marcellus Shale production in Western Pennsylvania to processing plants in southeastern Pennsylvania, received a blow from Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ALJs on July 23, 2014.

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PUC Divested Of Remaining Marcellus Zoning Duties


In Robinson Township v. Commonwealth, 83 A.3d 901(Pa. 2013) the Pennsylvania Supreme Court invalidated key provisions of Act 13, the statute that removed from local zoning control the power to regulate oil and gas operations through restrictions on the placement and operation of  oil and gas facilities.  The Court remanded to the Commonwealth Court to consider whether other provisions of Act 13, including provisions that give the PUC power to review local zoning ordinances and withhold impact fees, remain viable.

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The Defense of Act 13 Continues: Robinson Township Update.


On January 2, 2014 the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and Department of Environmental Protection (“Applicants”) filed an Application for Reargument of Robinson Township,1 in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, requesting reconsideration of the December 19, 2013 plurality opinion and remand to the Commonwealth Court for an evidentiary hearing and findings of fact.  The Applicants argue that the plurality of the Court, in applying its newly coined Environmental Rights Amendment balancing test, adopted novel and unsupported findings of fact, contrary to established Supreme Court principle against taking on a fact finding role in its appellate jurisdiction.  Robinson Township, et al., (“Townships”) answer that no disputed facts were necessary to the Court’s balancing test, and in the alternative, judicial estoppel precludes Applicants from requesting an evidentiary hearing because Applicants successfully argued in the Commonwealth Court that the Act’s constitutionality was purely a question of law.  Applicants also request remand to have the Commonwealth Court determine whether the unconstitutional set back provisions are severable from the rest of Act 13.

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Act 13’s Local Zoning Provisions Put On Hold

Commonwealth Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Halting Zoning Limits in Act 13

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PA PUC ENTERS WRITTEN DECISION IN HMS’LASER MARCELLUS PIPELINE APPLICATION CASE

On June 4, 2011, the PUC reduced its majority motion to a written order and has remanded the case to an Administrative Law Judge for a ruling on whether the service and terms of the partial settlement are in the public interest.  The Order essentially follows Commissioner Wayne E. Gardner’s Motion, which was joined by Chairman Robert F. Powelson and Vice-Chairman John F. Coleman, Jr. at the May 19, 2011 public meeting.  It accepted the position of Laser and other parties, such as the PUC’s Office of Trial Staff, that the service proposed by Laser will be public utility service because it will be open to any member of the public requiring service to the extent of capacity.

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PUC finds that Laser Northeast’s gas gathering service in the Marcellus Shale play is public utility service

On May 19, 2011, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (“PUC”) voted 3-2 to approve a motion by Commissioner Wayne E. Gardner finding that Laser Northeast Gathering Company’s (“Laser”) proposed natural gas pipeline gathering service in Pennsylvania is a public utility service.

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Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Bills Driven by Marcellus Shale Development In PA Move Forward

There are two natural gas pipeline safety bills pending before the Pennsylvania General Assembly: House Bill 344 and Senate Bill 325.  Each was met with overwhelming approval in the chamber in which it was proposed, and the passage of either would result in additional safety regulation of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

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