A state Supreme Court ruling last week could have an impact on how gas wells can be drilled in the area.

According to court documents, the Supreme Court on June 1 ruled that natural gas well company Inflection Energy LLC cannot drill on a residential agricultural district in Lycoming County. The case involved a 59-acre piece of property owned by two Fairfield Township residents. The township’s zoning law did not specifically permit gas drilling, but supervisors voted to issue a conditional use permit for the project.

The Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas reversed that decision, with a judge saying the operation was similar to public service facility. State law indicates a public service facility includes, among other things, power plants, substations, water treatment plants, as well as electrical, gas or communication services.

A judge ruled Inflection did not meet the burden of proof indicating a public service. An appeal was then made to a Commonwealth Court, which overturned that decision, finding the burden of proof had been met and the public service facility definition was “similar” to the legal definition.

That led to an appeal by the property owners, and June 1’s 4-3 vote to limit where gas developers can operate.

According to court documents, the majority opinion written by Associate Justice Christine Donohue indicates the township ordinance does not explicitly state such drilling operations are permitted in the district, making the conditional use tag unavailable.

The Supreme Court found the Commonwealth Court cited no evidence or explanation in overturning the Common Pleas Court ruling, and misinterpreted what a public service facility is intended to define.

“Inflection is clearly not a municipality or a government agency, but rather is a private, for-profit commercial business,” Donohue wrote. “It is also not a public utility.”

Donohue further wrote that the township’s ordinance does not clearly authorize a gas well in any of the zoning districts, and allowing a conditional use without clear definition, “would deprive local residents and property owners in the district of any meaningful opportunity to oppose the issuance of a new conditional use permit.”

While the ruling is not intended to say that oil and gas development is never permitted in a residential agricultural district, it does serve to recommend that townships amend zoning ordinances to permit drilling in specific areas, as well as set limits and conditions in those zones.