Legislation recently signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett has come under fire by some attorneys and industry watchers for what they say is vague and overly broad language allowing natural gas drillers to pool properties into units without leaseholders' consent and to decide, with little oversight, how much the owners of those properties should be paid.
"This is atrocious for the landowners in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and great for oil and gas companies," said Paul R. Yagelski, a partner at Pittsburgh-based Rothman Gordon who represents landowners in oil and gas lease disputes.
