By: Shayna Posses
Partner Chris Carusone was quoted in the Law360 article “Pa. Justices Asked To Block Drilling Site Rules Ahead Of Vote,” in regards to his representation of the Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers Association in their lawsuit against the state Department of Environmental Protection. The full article is available on the Law360 website.
Law360, Jersey City (April 18, 2016, 10:24 PM ET) — An industry group contending that rules governing surface operations at oil and gas wells violate Pennsylvania law urged the state’s highest court Monday to enjoin the rulemaking process ahead of a final review meeting this week, days after a lower court declined to do so.
The Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers Association urged the state Supreme Court to issue an injunction putting off the Independent Regulatory Review Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday on regulations the group says don’t abide by state law requiring separate regulatory packages for hydraulic fracturing operations and conventional drillers.
The request follows the Commonwealth Court’s Friday decision that the matter wasn’t ripe for adjudication because the regulations aren’t fully promulgated and may not cause members any harm. PIPP argues that the lower court failed to address the group’s central argument that the state Environmental Quality Board’s decision to issue a single regulation will severely undermine the group’s position during the meeting regarding whether the regulation is in the public interest.
“The lower court failed to appreciate (or even address) this immediate harm,” the group argued. “While this request is unusual during the rulemaking process, PIPP will not have … another opportunity to contest this regulation before it becomes immediately effective on publication. Therefore, an emergency injunction of the rulemaking process is warranted.”