Article Title

Between Huntley and Salem: The Current State of Municipal Authority in Pennsylvania to Affect Gas Drilling through Zoning

Authors

Dan Raichel, Natural Resources Defense Council

First Page

141

Document Type

Note

Rights

Abstract

This article examines the scope of Pennsylvania is preemption of municipal authority to zone natural gas drilling activities in light of two relatively recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act and its local ordinance preemption provision. Although these cases define outer boundaries of permissible municipal regulation along the spectrum uf/possible zoning controls - i.e. what types ofordinance provisions would be either definitively permitted or preempted - substantial questions remain as to what extent a municipality may use traditional zoning power to zone gas drilling activities. This paper explores those grey areas, and attempts to assess the preemption risk of various types ofzoning controls.

Recommended Citation

Dan Raichel, Between Huntley and Salem: The Current State of Municipal Authority in Pennsylvania to Affect Gas Drilling through Zoning, 19 Buff. Envtl. L.J. 141 (2011).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/belj/vol19/iss1/5