Pa. Appellate Court Rules Gas Compressor is Permissible Incidental Use

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has reversed a zoning ban on a gas compressor station because it is “incidental and subordinate” to the permissible shallow gas pumping operation it supports. In re: Notice of Appeal from Township of Bradford Township Zoning Hearing Board, No. 1443 C.D. 2010 (Pa. Cmnwlth. Ct.).

The appellate court’s May 9 opinion overturned a ruling by the McKean County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas in favor of Bradford Township, whose zoning board held that while the pumping station was a permitted use, the related compressor station was not.

The regulation at issue limits uses …