US court tosses drilling ban in Allegheny Forest - Teddy Roosevelt would slap the government and the oil and gas industry for such an atrocity!

via Post-Gazzette.com

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Associated Press

A U.S. appeals court has thrown out a ban on drilling in the Allegheny National Forest.

The unanimous three-judge panel said the government controls only surface rights.

The court says mineral rights are privately owned, and those owners should enjoy reasonable access to the surface to drill for oil and gas below.

Tuesday's ruling is a setback for environmental groups who had gotten the National Forest Service to stop issuing the drilling permits until lengthy environmental impact studies could be done.
The ruling, first reported by The Legal Intelligencer, upholds a lower-court judge who had temporarily lifted the ban.

Oil and gas companies who stood to lose millions of dollars under the ban hope to make the injunction permanent.

Does anyone really care if the Oil and Gas industry was whining because they stood to lose millions of dollars because they might be banned from drilling in a National Park?  What do THE PEOPLE stand to lose because of fracking in a National Forest?  This is OUR park. This is OUR resource. This is OUR ecosystem. This is our refuge. This is a protected area. Teddy Roosevelt would slap the government and the oil and gas industry for such an atrocity!