On the heels of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that struck down tenets of Act 13, the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board will conduct seven public hearings in regards to proposed new regulations for oil and gas development.

The purpose of these revisions is to carry out Act 13 and summarize regulatory approaches the DEP has developed over the past several years through various permit terms and policies.

Governor Tom Corbett also called upon the Commonwealth’s oil and gas operators to help protect Pennsylvania’s wetlands, rivers and streams from impacts during oil and gas development.

“The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Act 13 of 2012 set aside important buffer restrictions between drilling activity and our waterways and wetlands,” Corbett said. “In doing so, the court overturned protections which I signed into law and which received strong, bipartisan support in the General Assembly. This action, which could imperil our water quality, is simply unacceptable.”

The proposed revisions cover a couple of different sections of environmental protection, including the protection of public resources, the identification of orphan and abandoned wells, containment practices and the protection of water resources.

The stated purpose of the proposed regulations include ensuring the protection of public health, safety and the environment, protecting public resources, modernizing the program to recognize advances in technology and specifying the acceptable containment practices to prevent spills.

“The state Supreme Court issued an historic ruling in Act 13, Pennsylvania’s oil and gas law, that comes down strongly in favor of the provisions in our Environmental Rights Amendment,” said Cindy Dunn, president and CEO of pro-environmental group PennFuture. “Our citizens need to make their voices heard and call for the strongest of regulations, and diligent enforcement, on oil and gas activities in the commonwealth for the protection of humans and wildlife now and into the future.”

The first meeting will take place tonight, Jan. 9, in West Chester at 6 P.M., and public comment is encouraged throughout the entire process. A complete list of meeting dates and locations, along with registration information, is here.

As part of his call to action, Corbett has reached out to the leadership of the commonwealth’s key oil and natural gas trade associations, including the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the Associated Petroleum Industries of PA and the PA Independent Oil and Gas Association. Each organization listed indicated to Corbett that they intend to comply with his request.

The governor also reiterated that the Pennsylvania DEP will continue its aggressive implementation of the Oil and Gas Act as well as other environmental statutes that protect the commonwealth’s environment.