The big story today is that the bill proposed by Gov. Corbett for the state to levy an impact fee that would go to local communities (i.e. local impact fee)
would also limit ability of the same communities to pass local ordinances that regulate drilling:
The two state legislative chambers are reversing roles on Marcellus Shale regulations, with an impact fee from the House GOP gaining steam and the Senate delaying a vote on its levy proposal until mid-November....
Since then, the Corbett administration has urged lawmakers and staffers to include a provision that would completely pre-empt local zoning ordinances on oil and gas drilling. An administration spokesman declined to confirm that the administration is pushing for state control of drilling rules, but he did say the governor believes local rules are too fragmented.
1 comment:
Having had to deal with the difference between state and municipal regulation as a private consultant, I have some sympathy for the "it's really complicated to have 27 different sets of regulations to understand", however it seems like often this is used as a bludgeon to keep people who are feeling the impact from doing anything about it. I'm far from an expert on PA state politics, but I imagine that anything cooked up in Harrisburg is probably not so influenced by the people out in rural western PA than by company lobbyists and urban lawmakers, who are less likely to know/care about local concerns. I would love to believe that there was compromise solution possible if people just talked it out, but this is not the greatest climate for negotiation.
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