Attorneys get angry at gas drilling hearing
By Amanda Cregan, Intelligencer, November 13, 2008
A decision that could clear the way for hundreds of natural gas wells in Nockamixon rests
in the hands of three men, each who have signed gas leases with the plaintiff and would stand to benefit from the ruling.
But Nockamixon zoning hearing board chairman Dave Wolfinger, board member Lance Arbor and
alternate member Clarence Berger were the only three of the five-member board present Wednesday night to hear the case handed
down to them by Bucks County Court. The two absent board members do not hold gas leases.
With a promise of an independent decision by each of the three men, the hearing proceeded
with the case by Michiganbased gas drilling company Arbor Resources.
Other than signing a gas lease, zoning hearing board member Lance Arbor has no relationship
with the gas company of the same name.
Jordan Yeager, a Doylestownbased attorney representing the township, was blown away by
the proceedings Wednesday night.
Although he did not object to the board members’ contracts with the plaintiff, Yeager
argued Arbor Resources had not met the proper filing requirement by failing to notify the property owners who would be affected
by their neighbors’ leases.
“The neighbors of those properties have a right to participate,” he said.
The board disregarded his challenge.
Yeager grew frustrated as the board continued to shoot down his challenges. He wanted the
board to tackle the case as it relates to specific property owners who have signed leases and not take a wide-sweeping view
of the law.
“This isn’t an advisory body,” Yeager said. “This is a body that
relates to a specific applicant before the board as it relates to a specific property.”
Arbor Resources attorney Walter Bunt wrapped up his case Wednesday night without witnesses
or testimony, arguing it was a merely a matter of state law.
Yeager wasn’t ready to argue his case because he had not called his witness to appear
at Wednesday night’s hearing, expecting the hearing to continue to another date.
He and Arbor Resources attorneys even got into a heated shouting match as board members
took a brief executive session for discussion. While the board members met, Arbor Resources attorneys accused Yeager of being
unprepared while Yeager questioned the firm’s attorneys as to why they had no evidence or witnesses to present.
The board would not grant Yeager an extended date to present his witness. He will have
the opportunity to wrap up his arguments when the hearing continues at the township municipal building Dec. 18.
Arbor Resources attorneys argue that Nockamixon
Township ordinances prohibiting oil and gas drilling in the Upper Bucks community
are not valid because they are trumped by state law.
It’s the same argument they presented to Bucks County Judge Clyde Waite, before the
judge sided in late September with the township’s authority to enforce local ordinances to regulate natural gas and
oil drilling in the township.
Waite said the matter should first be taken up with Nockamixon’s Zoning Hearing Board
before heading to a higher judicial authority.
Arbor Resources abided by the judge’s decision but also filed an appeal with the
state.
Company attorney Bunt told the board Nockamixon did not have the right to make laws already
in place at the state level.
“Under the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act it provides how oil and gas should operate
in the state of Pennsylvania,” Bunt, a Pittsburgh-based attorney argued. “You can’t
put anything in an ordinance that deals with the same features in the Oil and Gas Act.”
The state’s Oil and Gas Act gives the authority to Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection to permit private gas wells.
“They are the ones by law who are charged with protecting the environmental welfare
of the people,” he said.
Nockamixon officials have argued they maintain the right to protect township residents
and natural resources.
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