PRESS RELEASE: Court Rulings Restore Appeals of Compressor Station Air Permit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Alex Bomstein, abomstein@cleanair.org 

Jared Stonesifer, 412-443-4466, stonesifer@pennfuture.org

Emily A. Collins, ecollins@fairshake-els.org 

Court Rulings Restore Appeals of Compressor Station Air Permit

(WEST ROCKHILL TOWNSHIP, PA - June 16, 2021) A pair of Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decisions yesterday restores the rights of neighbors to a pipeline compressor station and its host municipality to get a full hearing on their challenges to an air permit for the polluting facility. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had issued the air quality permit for the Adelphia Gateway Pipeline project’s compressor station in West Rockhill Township, Bucks County. The Township and neighbors appealed the permit, but the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) threw out their appeals, saying only the federal appellate courts could hear the cases. The Commonwealth Court disagreed, returning the cases to the EHB where they can proceed toward hearings.

Clean Air Council, PennFuture, Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, and Mountain Watershed Association filed friend-of-the-court (amicus) briefs with the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court in support of both appeals, arguing that state law gave appellants the right to a trial where they can put on evidence and have a judge weigh the new evidence. 

“We are delighted that West Rockhill Township and the neighbors will get their day in court,” said Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council. “The Commonwealth Court preserved people's right to a full hearing where they can challenge dangerous projects like the Adelphia compressor station.”

“This is an access to justice win. This decision gives people potentially affected by compressor stations a place to seek full and critical review of each proposal and its impacts. Industry should expect Pennsylvanians to do just that.” Emily Collins, Executive Director and Managing Attorney, Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services.

“Pennsylvania has entrusted the Environmental Hearing Board to give full review of environmental permitting actions. Today’s decision puts that authority back with the Board and ensures that Pennsylvanians who are harmed by these actions have their rightful day in court,” adds Abigail M. Jones, PennFuture’s Vice President of Legal & Policy.  

The opinion in the Cole case is here and the opinion in the West Rockhill Township case is here. The groups’ legal filing can be found here.

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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.