Pennsylvania Senators Sue Over Natural Gas ‘Moratorium’ by River Commission

SEATTLE (Oil Monster):  Two Pennsylvania state senators filed a lawsuit Monday against the Delaware River Basin Commission in federal court claiming it has usurped the state’s legislative power by declaring a de facto moratorium on the construction and operation of wells for natural gas production in the parts of the Marcellus Shale formation encompassed by the basin.

State Senators Gene Yaw and Lisa Baker as well as the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Caucus say that the federal interstate body, which oversees the Delaware River watershed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware, violates the underlying compact between the four states by prohibiting since 2010 the construction of gas wells within areas of the basin in Pennsylvania that overlap with the Marcellus Shale formation. They filed their complaint in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

 Courtesy: www.reuters.com