Conditions on ground vary

Conditions on ground vary by The Times-Tribune, July 29, 2012
Unlike the governor and legislators, who claimed that the industry’s need for uniform regulations outweighed local interests, the court found that conditions on the ground across the commonwealth aren’t uniform. That’s why zoning exists in the first place – to accommodate a wide array of land uses relative to local conditions. Nothing about the gas industry should give it supremacy over any other potential use competing for the same land. The court, in a 4-3 decision, found that the state government’s sweeping override of local zoning created a host of conflicts – allowing drilling and wastewater storage, for example, in areas that had been zoned to exclude such industrial uses. … Rather than appealing the Commonwealth Court decision, the Corbett administration should pursue smarter zoning statewide that serves rational development across the board.