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Zoning Bulletin May 25, 2016 I Volume 10 i Issue 10 <br />Pre-emption—After state issues <br />permit for an oil and gas well, <br />parish asserts that its zoning laws <br />prohibit such a use <br />State and permit holder argue that state law <br />regulating oil and gas activity pre-empts local zoning <br />ordinances <br />Citation: St. Tammany Parish Government v. Welsh, 2015-1152 La. <br />App. 1 Cir. 3/9/16, 2016 WL 918361 (La. Ct. App. lst Cir. 2016) <br />LOUISIANA (03/09/16) This case addressed the issue of whether a <br />parish's zoning ordinances, which provided zoning designations that pro- <br />hibit certain land uses, was pre-empted by state law regulating oil and <br />gas activity. <br />The Background/Facts: In 2007, St. Tammany Parish Government <br />(the "Parish") adopted the Parish's Unified Development Code ("UDC"). <br />In 2010, the Parish passed an ordinance that completed the process of <br />rezoning unincorporated areas of the Parish. In August 2014, the Com- <br />missioner of the Office of Conservation of the State of Louisiana, James <br />H. Welsh (the "Commissioner"), issued an order approving a single drill- <br />ing and production unit for the exploration and production of oil and gas <br />from a location in the Parish. A permit issued by the Commissioner in <br />December 2014 to Helis Oil & Gas Company, LLC ("Helis") allowed for <br />the drilling of a well at that location. The location was in a wholly resi- <br />dential area in the Parish. It was sited over and through an aquifer, which <br />was the sole source of drinking water in the area. Subsequently, the Par- <br />ish filed a lawsuit against the Commissioner. The Parish asked the court <br />to declare that the zoning designations of the area of the property covered <br />by Helis' drilling permit rendered such land use illegal. (Concerned <br />Citizens of St. Tammany ("CCST") and Helis intervened in the action.) <br />The Commissioner and Helis argued that state law governing oil and <br />gas drilling pre-empted local zoning ordinances and therefore the peiuuit <br />issued to Helis was valid. <br />Finding no material issues of fact in dispute, and deciding the matter <br />on the law alone, the trial court issued summary judgment in favor of <br />Helis and the Commissioner. The court determined that Louisiana statu- <br />tory law —La. R.S. 30:28F expressly pre-empted the Parish's zoning <br />ordinances. <br />La. R.S. 30:28F states: <br />"The issuance of the permit by the [C]ommissioner. . .shall be sufficient <br />©2016 Thomson !Reuters 5 <br />