In a closely watched case involving a natural gas “reliability station,” the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court recently reiterated quite plainly that court’s narrow view of the Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment, Article I, Section 27, of the Pennsylvania Constitution. See Township of Marple v. Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, No. 1385 C.D. 2024 (Pa. Commw. Ct. Feb. 2, 2026)(Marple II). The case had been to the Commonwealth Court already and the court had decided that a regulatory agency may not make a permitting decision without conducting some level of environmental review. See Township of Marple v. Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, 294 A.3d 965, 973-74 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2023)(Marple I). However, Marple II read that constitutional obligation to be limited to the environmental impacts of the specific project without consideration of consequences of the project. Further, the court held that regulatory agencies implementing the Environmental Rights Amendment should stay in their own lanes and should defer to regulatory determinations of agencies charged with environmental protection.
Link to Read “Township of Marple and the Scope of Agency Environmental Review Under the Environmental Rights Amendment” authored by David G. Mandelbaum on The Legal Intelligencer website. (subscription). Read “Township of Marple and the Scope of Agency Environmental Review Under the Environmental Rights Amendment” authored by David G. Mandelbaum on The Legal Intelligencer website. (subscription).
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*The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Greenberg Traurig or its clients.