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For Immediate Release
April 29, 2008
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Measures to Resolve Disputes over Coal Bed Methane Wells,
Encourage Brownfield Redevelopment Agreements Approved by Committee
Also approves White measure protecting property rights.
- Senator Mary Jo White
- Senator Don White
Harrisburg – Measures aimed at resolving disputes over coal bed methane
wells, encouraging brownfield redevelopment and protecting property rights were
unanimously approved today by the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy
Committee, chaired by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-21).
Senate Bill 1330, sponsored by Sen. Don White (R-41), establishes a process
to resolve objections between a surface land owner and the mineral rights estate
owner regarding the location of coal bed methane wells or access roads.
The legislation was the product of a process initiated after the committee
held a public hearing on the subject last year. Under the bill, a well operator
intending to drill or construct an access road must provide written notification
to the surface owner. The notification must advise the surface owner of the
right to file objections with a Coal Bed Methane Review Board, which is
established by the bill. The Board will work with the surface owner and well
operator and attempt to find common ground on the location of the well and
accompanying access roads.
Senate Bill 1062, sponsored by Sen. Rob Wonderling (R-24), is designed to
encourage the redevelopment of contaminated property known as "brownfield
sites." The bill authorizes the state Secretary of Environmental Protection to
enter into redevelopment agreements with developers who remediate brownfield
sites, with developers eligible to receive a reimbursement of up to 75 percent
of the remediation costs.
Senate Resolution 294, sponsored by Senator Mary Jo White, addresses a forest
management plan adopted by the Allegheny National Forest in February. The plan
imposes new restrictions on the development of mineral rights underneath the
forest. (More than 90 percent of the minerals underneath the forest are
privately held, and were retained when the surface was sold to create the
forest.)
Senate Resolution 294 urges the federal government to re-evaluate the plan,
and reaffirms that when the commonwealth allowed land to be acquired to create
the Allegheny National Forest it did not confer any authority to the U.S.
government to diminish the commonwealth's property rights or the rights of
private property owners.
More information on the Committee's activities are available online at
www.senatormjwhite.com (choose
"Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee).
CONTACT:
Patrick Henderson (717) 787-9684
phenderson@pasen.gov
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