{"id":13885,"date":"2014-11-05T14:21:47","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T14:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/?p=13885"},"modified":"2014-11-05T14:21:47","modified_gmt":"2014-11-05T14:21:47","slug":"bar-institute-publishes-treatise-on-state-oil-and-gas-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/05\/bar-institute-publishes-treatise-on-state-oil-and-gas-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Bar institute publishes treatise on state oil and gas law"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY BRENDAN GIBBONS<\/strong>
\n Times-Shamrock Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2008, Scranton attorney Stephen Saunders started his own firm to represent landowners swept up in the Marcellus Shale boom.<\/p>\n

Six years later, the Marcellus is the largest-producing shale gas basin in the U.S., and Mr. Saunders is co-editor of a Pennsylvania Bar Institute book, \u201cThe Law of Oil & Gas in Pennsylvania,\u201d that delves into the whirlwind of legal developments that swirl around this controversial industry.<\/p>\n

The book\u2019s set of authors and editors reflects its broad focus. Though Mr. Saunders represents landowners, his co-editor Joel Burcat of Harrisburg-based Saul Ewing LLP represents the industry.
\nTwenty-six other attorneys representing landowners, gas companies, local governments and environmental groups also contributed sections.<\/p>\n

The book covers the industry\u2019s history and technical background, along with titles and leasing and regulatory issues involving federal, state and local governments, plus the two major river basin compacts.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania\u2019s oil and gas law begins in the mid-19th century following Edwin Drake\u2019s oil well in Titusville, the first commercial oil well in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Much has changed with the Marcellus. Mr. Saunders and Mr. Burcat spoke about some of the important legal developments since Range Resources drilled the first Marcellus well in 2006.<\/p>\n

When landmen from out-of-state companies first poured into counties like Susquehanna, the standard lease they pushed across the table was called \u201cproducers 88,\u201d Mr. Saunders said.<\/p>\n

Developed in Texas and Oklahoma decades ago (Mr. Saunders thinks the 1960s), the lease contained few addendums to control gas company\u2019s use of the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people in 2007 didn\u2019t even bother to get a lawyer,\u201d he said. \u201cThey signed that standard producers 88 lease which had no addendums and minimum royalty and a fairly low up-front bonus payments.\u201d
\nLater on, many landowners became more sophisticated and sought legal help when negotiating with gas companies, he said.<\/p>\n

Regarding royalty payments, Mr. Saunders said one of the most important Marcellus-era cases was Kilmer vs. Elexco Land Services, a 2010 state Supreme Court decision that held that gas companies could deduct from landowners\u2019 royalty payments certain costs of marketing gas.<\/p>\n

Before the decision, hundreds of lawsuits in various courts suggested that a 12.5 percent royalty after deductions failed to meet the standard of the state\u2019s Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act, he said.<\/p>\n

The decision \u201cimmediately eliminated hundreds of cases from the docket,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Another major decision dealt with titles to underground oil and gas estates. In its 2013 Butler vs. Charles Powers Estate decision, the Supreme Court affirmed that a deed for \u201cminerals\u201d does not include oil or gas unless the deed specifically says so.<\/p>\n

Marcellus leasing led to quandaries such as whether a person who held the deed to a mineral estate was actually able to lease oil and gas, Mr. Saunders said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people were taking the position if it mentioned minerals, that must include anything under the ground,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the court there said no.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Burcat, the book\u2019s other co-editor, spoke to the evolving role of state government in regulating the industry and protecting the environment.<\/p>\n

In the 19th century, the General Assembly enacted its first handful of laws regulating the industry, he said. These focused on keeping oil from seeping onto the ground and making sure companies plugged old wells, he said.<\/p>\n

Then, in 1937, the General Assembly passed the Clean Streams Law, which made it unlawful to discharge pollutants to waters of the Commonwealth, including groundwater. It was one of the most advanced environmental laws in the country at the time, he said.<\/p>\n

In the 1960s, the legislature passed the Oil and Gas Conservation Law and the Coal and Gas Resource Coordination Act, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were largely enacted to protect oil and gas rights and delineate between oil and gas rights and coal rights,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were not necessarily to protect to the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oil and Gas Act of 1984 was an attempt to comprehensively regulate the industry, he said. That law dealt with the drilling process and handling waste, although bits and pieces of other laws and regulations already handled this.<\/p>\n

In the full throes of the Marcellus boom, the legislature revisited these issues again with Act 13 of 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe General Assembly believed, and I agree with them, there was a need to revisit the law,\u201d he said.
\nParts of Act 13 overrode local zoning laws. Before it passed, some local governments were using zoning to stop gas development in certain parts of their territories, Mr. Burcat said.<\/p>\n

Zoning fights weren\u2019t rampant then, he said, but \u201cit was happening enough that industry was concerned.\u201d
\nBut that portion of Act 13 didn\u2019t survive a Supreme Court decision last December, Robinson Twp. vs. Commonwealth, which found parts of the act unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

These are only a few of the topics the book covers. Its first edition published in September, said Elizabeth Ontko, a publications attorney for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. She said they would try to publish new editions every 12 to 18 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the advent of Marcellus Shale, we wanted to get all the info on gas and oil practices in Pennsylvania in one treatise,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Those interested in ordering a copy can call 800-932-4637, she said. But it\u2019s not cheap \u2014 one copy costs $259 plus shipping. It also includes a digital copy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY BRENDAN GIBBONS Times-Shamrock Writer In 2008, Scranton attorney Stephen Saunders started his own firm to represent landowners swept up in the Marcellus Shale boom….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nBar institute publishes treatise on state oil and gas law - PS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/11\/05\/bar-institute-publishes-treatise-on-state-oil-and-gas-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bar institute publishes treatise on state oil and gas law - 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