IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
WESTERN DISTRICT
DELAWARE RIVERKEEPER NETWORK, : No. 270 WAL 2017
CLEAN AIR COUNCIL, DAVID DENK, :
JENNIFER CHOMICKI, AND JOANN :
GROMAN, : Petition for Allowance of Appeal from
: the Unpublished Memorandum
Petitioners : Opinion and Order of the
: Commonwealth Court at No. 2609 CD
: 2015 entered on June 7, 2017,
v. : affirming the Order of the Butler
: County Court of Common Pleas at No.
: No. 15-10429 entered on November
MIDDLESEX TOWNSHIP ZONING : 19, 2015
HEARING BOARD, :
:
Respondent :
:
:
v. :
:
:
R.E. GAS DEVELOPMENT, LLC, :
MIDDLESEX TOWNSHIP, AND ROBERT :
G. GEYER, :
:
Respondent :
ORDER
PER CURIAM
AND NOW, this 3rd day of August, 2018, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is
GRANTED. The Order of the Commonwealth Court is VACATED and this matter is
REMANDED to the Commonwealth Court for reconsideration of its decision in light of Pa.
Envtl. Def. Found. v. Commonwealth, 161 A.3d 911 (Pa. 2017). In addition, in light of the
amendments contained in Middlesex Township Ordinance 127, which expressly include
gas well development as a permitted use in the subject R-AG zone, and our decision in
Gorsline v. Bd. of Sup. of Fairfield Twp., ---A.3d---, 2018 WL 2448803 (Pa. 2018) wherein
we noted “this decision should not be misconstrued as an indication that oil and gas
development is never permitted in residential/agricultural districts, or that it is
fundamentally incompatible with residential or agricultural uses,” we direct the
Commonwealth Court to reconsider the relevance of Gorsline to its analysis of the issues
on appeal in this case.
[270 WAL 2017] - 2