LibGuides: Environmental Law: Pennsylvania Environmental Law

Description of Resources

Administrative agencies are responsible for managing state resources and enforcing laws passed by the legislature, and may be authorized to create legally-binding regulations in their subject areas.

Secondary sources are unofficial guides to the law that explain legal doctrines and practices.

Primary sources are official government documents that state the law, such as statutes, regulations, judicial decisions, and decisions by administrative agencies.

Agency Websites

The Pennsylvania state government offers a web directory linking to government websites. Information about some of the major Pennsylvania agencies relevant to environmental law is presented below.

PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is charged with maintaining and protecting 124 state parks, managing 2.2 million acres of state forest land, providing information on the state's ecological and geologic resources, and establishing community conservation partnerships with grants and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space, and natural areas.
PA Department of Environmental Protection
The Department of Environmental Protection's mission is to protect Pennsylvania's air, land and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment.
PA Fish & Boat Commission
The mission of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is to protect, conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth's aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities.
PA Game Commission
For more than 100 years, the Game Commission has managed the Commonwealth's wildlife resources for all Pennsylvanians.
PA Public Utility Commission
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission oversees the nearly 7,000 entities which provide utility services across the state, including electricity, natural gas, pipeline transmission of natural gas and hazardous materials, motor carrier transportation of passengers and property, railroad crossings, telecommunications, and water and wastewater collection and disposal

Secondary Sources

Pennsylvania Environmental Law and Practice 8th ed.
This two-volume print resource from the Pennsylvania Bar Institute gathers information on Pennsylvania environmental law.
Pennsylvania Law Encyclopedia
The Pennsylvania Law Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia of state law containing (amongst other things) information on Pennsylvania's environmental laws.
Summary of Pennsylvania Jurisprudence 2d
The Summary of Pennsylvania Jurisprudence 2d is an encyclopedia of state law containing (amongst other things) information on Pennsylvania's environmental laws.

Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Law and Practice; Second Revised Edition by James W Adams Jr., Harry Weiss, JC Wilkinson III
Call Number: KFP258.A1 A73
ISBN: 9780997019940
Publication Date: 2017
This treatise, with forms, deals with the recent explosion of issues involving Pennsylvania oil and gas law including commercial leasing, drilling, producing and marketing of its hydrocarbon resources, especially in the Marcellus Shale region.
Up to Heaven and down to Hell by Colin Jerolmack
ISBN: 9780691220260
Publication Date: 2021-04-20
A riveting portrait of a rural Pennsylvania town at the center of the fracking controversy Shale gas extraction--commonly known as fracking--is often portrayed as an energy revolution that will transform the American economy and geopolitics. But in greater Williamsport, Pennsylvania, fracking is personal. Up to Heaven and Down to Hell is a vivid and sometimes heartbreaking account of what happens when one of the most momentous decisions about the well-being of our communities and our planet--whether or not to extract shale gas and oil from the very land beneath our feet--is largely a private choice that millions of ordinary people make without the public's consent.

Primary Sources

Most of Pennsylvania's environmental statutes (rules made by the legislature) are found in Title 27 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (Environmental Resources); Title 32 of the Pennsylvania Statutes (Forests, Waters, and State Parks); Title 52 of the Pennsylvania Statutes (Mines and Mining); and Title 58 of the Pennsylvania Statutes (Oil and Gas).

Most of Pennsylvania's environmental regulations (rules made by administrative agencies) are found in Title 17 and Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Code.

Proposed rules, rule amendments, and other information from Pennsylvania environmental agencies can be found in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

Both Lexis and Westlaw collect decisions from the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearings Board. The EHB is an independent quasi-judicial agency consisting of five members appointed by the Governor. The Board adjudicates appeals from orders, permits, licenses, and decisions of the Department of Environmental Protection.

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