In a blow to Pennsylvania landowners, a judge recently dismissed a lawsuit aiming to overturn the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC)’s ban on natural gas development within the watershed that robs private property owners of their right to realize the benefits of the energy beneath their feet.
In the suit, the Wayne Land Mineral Group sought “relief for the trampling of its constitutionally protected rights” and argued the Commission lacked authority to adopt a moratorium. The ban seeks to appease certain elected officials and special interest groups opposed to natural gas development, declaring all related well pads and facilities targeting shale formation as “projects” that are subject to DRBC’s review.
DRBC’s decision – which traps roughly $40 billion worth of natural gas underground forever – ignored the clear-eyed science proving responsible shale development poses no harm to public health or the environment. The Biden-era ban – supported by former Governor Wolf – was a blatant overreach of the DRBC’s authority, deliberately cutting off economic activity and investment revenue in Wayne and Pike Counties despite development underway across much of the Commonwealth, including within the neighboring Susquehanna River Basin.
“Who gave [politicians] the right to choose prosperity for some and poverty for others?” DRB resident Betty Sutliff testified before the State House Government Committee. “This discriminatory treatment of a couple of counties in Pennsylvania is totally inequitable, partial, unfair and wrong.”
A roundtable discussion with U.S. EPA Administrator Zeldin in Northeastern PA recently discussed this unfair treatment, where local leaders and lawmakers voiced the nonsense ruling infringes upon property rights while driving away economic benefits that could be reinvested into the community.
“If it’s safe enough to be done in two river basins, why not in the third? It deprives people of their property rights and speaks glaringly of hypocrisy,” said State Rep. Jonathan Fritz at the roundtable.
Congressman Rob Bresnahan echoed the representative’s sentiments, pointing out natural gas development in the area “would lead to almost a billion-dollar industry that would allow us to reinvest in our schools and public roads and recreation activities.”
Despite DRBC’s baseless claims, the facts are clear. No other region produces natural gas to the same standards as Pennsylvania and Appalachia. Appalachia producers consistently have the lowest methane emissions intensity of all the basins, underscoring local operators’ dedication to environmental stewardship. Improved air quality and overall public health are also thanks to natural gas development in the state.
The industry understands the value that Pennsylvania freshwater resources provide to residents, with Appalachia operators having pioneered water reuse and recycling to limit freshwater withdrawals. Not only does responsible natural gas development bring economic gains like job growth, tax revenues and royalties to landowners, but it also facilitates our state’s energy security and environmental progress.
The unjust Biden and Wolf-era overreach of the DRBC’s authority should not exclude residents within the Delaware River watershed of the benefits their neighbors – mere miles away – are able to realize.
“To have seven layers of commercially viable shale under your feet right now and you can’t harvest them is a travesty,” said Curt Coccodrilli, a Wayne County resident and current senior adviser to the U.S. Department of Energy.
“A lot of our landowners feel like second-class citizens. It’s time to change that.”
