Even though the U.S. Forest Service signed a settlement
agreement Wednesday that increases the agency’s regulatory actions
over oil and gas development, some industry officials don’t feel
the legal battle is over.

Speaking on conditions of anonymity, an industry official that
is familiar with the lawsuit between the Forest Service and a
coalition of environmental groups said Friday that the deal isn’t
final.

The official said that the settlement was reached without all
parties in the suit being present.

A federal judge named the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association
as an intervenor defendant on Tuesday, but the official said
representatives from the association were not present when the
plaintiffs and the Forest Service agreed on the terms of the
settlement.

According to Tereina Stidd, a Florida attorney, any party can
make a settlement with any opposing party, but that settlement
cannot infringe on the rights of any party not included in the
settlement. Since POGAM was not part of the agreement and it feels
the settlement violates private property rights, the official
believes the settlement is not legitimate.

In the settlement, the Forest Service promises to analyze any
future oil and gas development using the National Environmental
Policy Act, which requires a detailed environmental analysis and
public comment on each well.

More than 90 percent of the mineral rights underneath the
Allegheny are owned privately, with the federal government owning
the surface resources. Under state and federal law, a mineral right
holder cannot be denied access to his property as long as
reasonable measures are taken to mitigate surface disruption.

The industry official said NEPA will do just that – deny
producers access to their property.

“One of the reasons you do NEPA is to see if you can even do the
project,” the official said. “It’s basically a veto.”

A NEPA analysis could potentially take several months to
complete. Currently, producers must only give 60 days notice before
developing the property. Increasing the wait time between
application and approval could prove to be detrimental to private
producers that need to drill wells to maintain production.

U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., who has advocated on behalf of
mineral right owners, is very concerned over the settlement,
according to the congressman’s communications director. The
congressman is not only worried about how this decision may
infringe on the rights of property owners, but also concerned that
the Forest Service agreed to pay the environmental groups’ legal
fees, totaling more than ,19,000.

A hearing is scheduled next Thursday in the Western Pennsylvania
U.S District Court to determine the validity of the agreement, the
officials said.