Jennifer Clark, Esq., joins Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services' new Philadelphia Office

Jen joins Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services as a Staff Attorney in our new Philadelphia, Pennsylvania location.  She started her early professional career as an engineer with Armstrong World Industries and The Boeing Company, working mainly in developing and improving manufacturing processes.  While at Boeing, she became interested in advocating for people on an individual level and started attending law school in pursuit of that endeavor.  In law school, Jen participated in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic at Widener University which she found combined her passion for advocacy and her love of the natural world. 

After receiving her J.D., Jen joined the intellectual property practice group at Reed Smith LLP in Philadelphia where she prosecuted and litigated patent, trademark, and copyright matters for a wide range of clients, utilizing her background in chemistry, physics, processes, and mechanics.  Jen represented nonprofit organizations and small businesses in her solo practice after leaving Reed Smith LLP in 2007.  In late 2019, Jen wished to develop her practice in environmental law and served as a Volunteer Attorney with the Clean Air Council in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania through 2020.  Her work at Clean Air Council solidified her deep interest in advocating for individuals, communities, and organizations in protecting their health and rights to a livable and enjoyable environment.  Out of the office, Jen is an avid outdoorsperson and former pro endurance athlete, competing in long distance triathlons, and taking on challenging hikes and climbs.

Jen earned her law degree from Widener University Delaware Law School in Wilmington, Delaware in 2005 and received a B.S. cum laude in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.  She is a member of Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society.  She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

East Pittsburgh Borough Rescinds Merrion Oil and Gas Well Conditional Use Approval

On October 22, 2020, the East Pittsburgh Borough Zoning Hearing Board voted to affirm the Borough Council’s earlier decision to rescind approval for a natural gas well pad proposed on the U.S. Steel Edgar Thompson property, just outside the City of Pittsburgh. 

Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services represents North Braddock Residents for Our Future and resident Chad Nicholson as Intervenors in Merrion’s Appeal. “The Zoning Board’s decision is a major win for residents of these communities who have objected to this development from the start” said attorney Ryan Hamilton. The 3-2 vote is the most recent development in a story that began in 2017 when the Borough granted New Mexico- based Merrion Oil and Gas their requested Conditional Use Approval.

According to the Board’s written Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the Borough Council has authority to rescind a conditional use within two years if the use has not commenced. Exercising that authority, in January 2020, the Borough Council notified Merrion that its conditional use approval expired. Merrion quickly filed an appeal to the Zoning Board. The Board held two days of virtual hearings in June where the parties presented evidence and cross examined witnesses.

Ultimately, the Board found that as of January 21, 2020 Merrion did not have required DEP permits to start construction, did not request a building permit or occupancy permit for the site, and “[n]o oil and gas operations have commenced at the site.” Accordingly, the Board affirmed the Council’s decision to rescind Merrion’s zoning approval, noting that “failure to be familiar with the terms of the zoning ordinance do not excuse failure to comply with it.”

Edith Abeyta with North Braddock Residents for Our Future said, “"Merrion continues to hold a colonialist position regardless of their inability to comply with the law, their inability to correctly complete DEP permit applications, after more than two years and 11 deficiency letters, and the overwhelming resistance by the community to their proposed fracking activity. They believe they know what is best for the people who live here and are determined to extract resources from the community whether it is through the courts or from the land under our feet."

While the zoning board decision is a significant step towards halting Merrion’s plans to develop a well pad at the site, counsel for Merrion suggests they are likely to appeal resulting in a lengthy legal process with a yet to be determined outcome.

60 Day Notice of Intent to Sue Sunoco Pipeline LP for Mariner East II Pipeline Violations

Contact: Tim Fitchett, Attorney tfitchett@fairshake-els.org

On October 6, 2020, Clean Air Council (CAC), through counsel, filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue Sunoco Pipeline L.P. (SPLP) for violations of its Erosion and Sedimentation Control permits related to the Mariner East II pipelines.

Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services of Pittsburgh, PA, which is representing Clean Air Council in this matter, filed the notice outlining an alleged pattern and practice of preventing professional geologists (PGs) working on the pipeline from properly inspecting and investigating environmental conditions, including subsidence, near the pipeline. The Notice of Intent to Sue contends that:

●      SPLP prevented the PGs from talking with drillers, depriving them of required information.

●      SPLP prevented PGs from reporting potentially dangerous subsidence outside of an arbitrarily determined boundary.

●      SPLP failed to adequately monitor subsidence incidents that were reported.

●      SPLP required the PGs’ reports to be editable and altered those reports before submission to regulatory agencies.

●      SPLP required the PGs to conform their findings with those of the Utility Inspectors, regardless of their actual findings.

Given the limitations placed on PGs and the potential alteration of their reports, CAC contends that SPLP has violated their Erosion and Sedimentation permits. Those permits require that SPLP submit true and accurate reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to ensure compliance with the Clean Streams Law.

“Sunoco is so scared of what its scientists will find in investigating its pipeline construction that it’s muzzled them and doctored their reports” said Joseph Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council. “Building pipelines based on fake science is dangerous and fraudulent.”

The Notice of Intent to Sue can be found here.