The PA Chamber last week played a key role in persuading the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) to table a petition that threatened to shut down natural gas development across much of the state.
Pennsylvania is the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas, contributing billions of dollars in economic activity and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs in the Commonwealth.
The petition — brought by two environmental groups — sought to expand the minimum distance between natural gas wells and structures from the current 500 feet to 2,500 feet, and up to 5,000 feet near certain facilities. Industry analysis showed this measure would block 99 percent of current and future drilling activity in Pennsylvania.
Shortly before the vote, the PA Chamber submitted a letter urging the board to reject the petition outright, arguing the proposed changes would amount to an effective ban on drilling and risk thousands of jobs tied to the natural gas industry. Other industry groups, including the American Petroleum Institute of Pennsylvania and the Marcellus Shale Coalition, also submitted comments criticizing the petition.
“At a time when Pennsylvania must stay competitive in attracting investment and job growth, especially in the energy sector, adopting policies that would effectively cripple one of our most vital industries is a step in the wrong direction,” PA Chamber Director of Government Affairs Amy Brinton wrote in the letter.
The EQB ultimately voted 16-3 to table the petition, citing the need to review late-arriving information. While the board did not formally reject the proposal, the vote delays consideration indefinitely and signals headwinds for any regulatory push that bypasses the General Assembly.
The board’s decision represents an important advocacy win for the business community and energy producers, who have maintained that any attempt to revise drilling setbacks should go through the legislative process, not regulatory fiat.
The petition remains tabled unless the EQB takes future action to revisit it.