Pennsylvania High Court Ruling Shores Up State's 'Green Amendment'

Annapolis MD

03 August, 2021

11:08 AM

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By Jeremy Cox, the Chesapeake Bay Journal Jul 30, 2021 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has sided with supporters of the state's environmental rights amendment who invoked the landmark measure to prevent governors and legislators from plugging budget holes with revenues from gas drilling on state lands. In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled July 28 that the state government must use proceeds it receives from natural gas extraction in the Marcellus shale to conserve and protect environmental resources in the state. In 2017, the high court ordered issued a similar opinion, but it only applied to royalty payments. The new ruling extends the conservation-spending decree to bonus payments, annual rental fees and interest penalties for late payments. The bonus and rental payments alone have generated more than $500 million for the state over the past decade, said John Childe, an attorney with the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Fund, which initiated the litigation. The ruling does not require that funding to be paid back, he added. Pennsylvania is the only state in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that has an environmental rights amendment, also known as a "green amendment," written into its constitution. In November, a statewide referendum in New York will decide whether one is adopted there. Legislative pushes are also underway in Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay Journal is a nonprofit news organization covering environmental issues in the Bay region. Sign up for a free subscription at BayJournal.com.