The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Sweeping Ruling Invalidates
Act 13's Statewide Oil and Gas Development Land Use Regime and
Heralds a New Era in Pennsylvania Environmental Litigation
On December 19, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its
long-awaited decision in Robinson Township, et al. v. Commonwealth,
63 MAP 2012, resolving a variety of constitutional challenges to
Act 13 of 2012, an amendment to the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act
that, among other things, implemented a uniform statewide land use
regime for oil and gas development. See 58 Pa. C.S. §§
2301-3504.
In a fragmented 4-2 decision, the Court invalidated certain of
Act 13's core provisions, including notably its implementation
of statewide zoning standards for oil and gas operations. The
decision will dramatically impact the oil and gas industry in many
ways, and assuredly will require the industry to comply with a
variety of differing regulations. It may even prompt efforts by
some aggressive
