PITTSBURGH – A group of environmental and community planning organizations, as well as government entities, filed a series of Amicus Briefs with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court today in support of communities’ rights to making zoning decisions about fracking within their borders.

The groups—including the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association, the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, the Pittsburgh City Council, Mountain Watershed Association, and Earthjustice—filed in support of a Commonwealth Court decision that found Act 13 unconstitutional. This Pennsylvania law would have permitted fracking virtually everywhere in the Commonwealth without any regard to community character or the existing local economy.  

The groups filing today join a broad spectrum of entities from throughout the state that have also filed so-called  “Friends of the Court” briefs like this, illustrating that opposition to the law is growing as the case is queued up to be heard by the Supreme Court on October 17.   

 “A heavy industrial activity like fracking has an enormous impact on the character of a community, its economic prosperity, and the health and happiness of its residents,” said Dan Raichel, Project Attorney at NRDC. “It’s only commonsense that communities should have the right to say whether or how fracking takes place within their borders.”

The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association filed an amicus based on their concerns related to the importance of municipal planning and zoning.

“The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association is concerned about the precedent that Act 13 would set for future zoning activities by limiting local municipal control.  We believe that municipalities are best suited to handle local land use planning by utilizing comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances without State preemption.  In order to preserve a high quality of life for all Pennsylvania residents, it is critical that municipalities maintain their ability to plan land use in accordance with a municipality’s individual needs and constraints,” said Kyle Guie, PA APA Legislative Committee Chair.