Western PA Townships Prepare To Challenge Impact Fee

Scott Detrow

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Scott Detrow is a congressional correspondent for NPR. He also co-hosts the NPR Politics Podcast.

Detrow joined NPR in 2015 to cover the presidential election. He focused on the Republican side of the 2016 race, spending time on the campaign trail with Donald Trump, and also reported on the election's technology and data angles.

Detrow worked as a statehouse reporter for member stations WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and KQED in San Francisco, California. He has also covered energy policy for NPR's StateImpact project, where his reports on Pennsylvania's hydraulic fracturing boom won a DuPont-Columbia and national Edward R. Murrow Award in 2013.

March 1, 2012 | 12:23 PM

The Post-Gazette takes a look at the southwestern municipalities who are preparing to challenge Pennsylvania’s new impact fee in court. Their problem: language limiting local governments’ ability to zone and regulate drilling:

South Fayette has joined other municipalities in considering legal action against House Bill 1950, which Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law Feb. 8.
Commissioners voted 5-0 on Feb. 15 to authorize their attorney, Jonathan Kamin, to “investigate all potential legal actions” related to the state legislation.
Deron Gabriel, commissioners’ president, said legal action is “highly likely” and could be decided in the next 30 to 60 days.
…In Washington County, officials in Peters, Robinson and Cecil also are considering legal action.
Marshall Bond, the interim manager of South Fayette, said the township’s attorney is expected to investigate options and report back.
“They’re going to take a look at all potential legal actions, and if that involves — and could be more effective with — a consortium of interested municipalities, that certainly could happen,” Mr. Bond said.