American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2019 - 16

IndustryDigest
Appeals Court Stays
Pipeline Construction,
But Allows Surveys
PHILADELPIA-A pipeline designed
to move Marcellus natural gas from
Central Pennsylvania to southern New
Jersey lost a court decision regarding
property condemnation along its 116mile route, but the ruling allowed
environmental survey work to continue.
In an appeal filed by several
governments and New Jersey agencies
that opposed the PennEast Pipeline, the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit partially granted a stay on
pipeline construction. The entities argue
that granting PennEast Pipeline
Company's condemnation rights
violates the 11th Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution, which provides for
sovereign immunity.
The appellants, which included New
Jersey and the state's Department of
Environmental Protection, Agriculture
Development Committee, Water Supply
Authority, Department of
Transportation, Department of the
Treasury and Motor Vehicle
Commission, had filed an earlier
lawsuit challenging the federal court's
authority to hear eminent domain cases
against a private company. They sought
to have a state court hear the case.
Under New Jersey's position,

condemning state-preserved properties
conflicts with state policies that aim at
protecting open space and farmland,
news accounts indicate.
According to media reports, because
PennEast had not scheduled
construction to begin until later in 2019,
the court's ruling may not affect
construction, and instead allows the
company to continue the survey work
needed for its New Jersey application
for a Clean Water Act Section 401
permit. The pipeline is scheduled to be
in service by 2020.
The decision states that the stay
extends to pipeline construction if
PennEast moves past the surveying and
testing phase. The circuit court also
agreed to fast-track the litigation process.
PennEast says the court decision
follows a similar ruling by Judge Malachy
Mannion from the U.S. District Court for
the Middle District of Pennsylvania,
which authorized the company to access
the last property that had not yet been
surveyed in the commonwealth.
An independent expert determined
that if the PennEast Pipeline had been
operational, it would have saved the
region more than $1.3 billion during
recent winters, the company adds. It
notes the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission has deemed the project to be
in both the public need and benefit when
it approved the pipeline in January. ❒

Two Court Decisions
Go Opposite Directions
For Pennsylvania Oilmen
WEXFORD, PA.-The Pennsylvania
oil and gas industry has lost its last
appeal in an attempt to shield certain
marginal wells from the state's Act 13
impact fee on unconventional natural
gas production. However, courts did
rule in industry's favor in a case
involving a local zoning ordinance that
was blocking a proposed wastewater
disposal well.
The Pennsylvania Independent Oil &
Gas Association reports the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court on March
7 denied the association's request to
reconsider its December 2018 decision
in Snyder Brothers Inc. v. PUC and
PIOGA v. PUC.
PIOGA explains that Act 13
excludes from its annual impact fee
unconventional gas wells that are
"incapable of producing more than 90
Mcf a day during any calendar month."
Contending the word "any" means
"every," in 2014 the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission assessed
Snyder Brothers Inc. nearly $500,000
for unpaid impact fees, including a
$50,000 penalty.
Snyder Brothers and PIOGA
challenged the PUC's interpretation, the
association says, claiming the

Pausing during a discussion
in Washington facilitated by
the Council for a Secure
America (CSA) are, from left,
Pete Regan with the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance
and CSA; Ed Cross of the
Kansas Independent Oil &
Gas Association and CSA;
Martin Frost with CSA;
Harold Hamm with Continental Resources and CSA
co-chairman; Arthur Stark
from the Conference of Presidents of Major American
Jewish Organizations; U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Fred Zeidman, CSA cochairman; Jennifer Sutton
with CSA; Blu Hulsey of Continental Resources and CSA,
Chip Fagadau, with CSA, Jerry Simmons with DEPA and
CSA and Malcolm Hoenlein,
chief executive officer of Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and CSA. In late March, Secretary Pompeo met
with members of the CSA-which is an organization dedicated to promoting U.S. energy independence, its impact on United States foreign
policy, and the strategic relationship between the United States and Israel-for a discussion that focused on U.S. sanctions against Iran and
their impact on the oil and gas industry across the globe, CSA indicates.

16 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2019

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