Title
Motion of the Council of Allegheny County authorizing the Allegheny County Executive to negotiate the sale of any natural gas rights held by the County for property upon which the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport is situated to the Allegheny County Airport Authority.
Body
WHEREAS, the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport is constructed on an accumulation of various parcels of real property, many of which have been acquired by Allegheny County over a period of decades; and
WHEREAS, at least some of those parcels overlay deposits of natural gas suspended in the Marcellus shale deposits; and
WHEREAS, mineral rights relating to some of those parcels may have been purchased by the County at the time the property was purchased; and
WHEREAS, in addition, mineral rights have been obtained by Allegheny County through the eminent domain process in several phases under the Mineral Estates Plan of Acquisition, the most recent of which appears to have been Phase VIII, accomplished in 2005 under the terms of Ordinance 34-05; and
WHEREAS, under the terms of Section 3 of Ordinance 34-05, "the title to be acquired by the County shall be in fee simple absolute," indicating that the rights acquired are owned by the County itself, and not by the Allegheny County Airport Authority; and
WHEREAS, ordinances governing the seizure of other phases of the Mineral Estates Plan of Action, including Ordinance 08-04, which authorized the acquisition of mineral rights in Phase VI, similarly indicate that the mineral rights are acquired by the County and not the Airport Authority; and
WHEREAS, the Airport Authority, which was formed under the terms of the Municipality Authorities Act, is specifically authorized by the Act to exercise the power of eminent domain, 53 P.S. §5607(d)(15), thus demonstrating that the Authority could have obtained the mineral rights pursuant to the Mineral Estates Plan of Action had such an outcome been desired, but that the County chose to acquire the rights instead; and
WHEREAS, property rights at the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport are governed by the terms of the Airport operation, Management and Transfer Agreement Between Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and the Allegheny County Airport Authority;
WHEREAS, the Transfer Agreement defines the property rights acquired by the Authority as "real property, fixtures, interest in and improvements to real property, and all other assets of every kind and nature acquired by the Airport Authority…in connection with or for the purpose of operation of the Airports"; and
WHEREAS, neither this description nor any other portion of the Transfer Agreement purports to convey any interest in mineral rights for the land under which the airports are located to the Airport Authority; and
WHEREAS, Article XI, Section 11.02(iii) of the Transfer Agreement clearly and explicitly provides that "[t]he County owns the Airport Assets, and the land upon which they are situated"; and
WHEREAS, the Authority's powers are delineated in Article IV of the Transfer Agreement, and no provision of Article IV empowers the Airport Authority to convey, lease, or otherwise dispose of any mineral rights for the land under which the airports are located; and
WHEREAS, based upon the foregoing, it is the position of Council that the County retains an ownership interest in mineral rights relating to the property upon which the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport is situated; and
WHEREAS, the Airport Authority has elected, on its own initiative, to attempt to sell an interest in the natural gas deposits located under Greater Pittsburgh International Airport that it appears not to own; and
WHEREAS, it is also the judgment of Council that the County negotiating a sale, lease or other conveyance of its natural gas rights to the Airport Authority could constitute a viable means of resolving the dispute over ownership of those rights, insofar as such a conveyance would provide a factual basis for the Authority's claim of ownership of such gas rights; and
WHEREAS, it is further the judgment of Council that such a sale would also afford the County the opportunity to protect its ownership interest in this valuable property right, such that the County's taxpayers are not disadvantaged by the Airport Authority's actions;
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY,
That Council hereby authorizes the Allegheny County Executive to negotiate the sale, lease or other conveyance of any natural gas rights held by the County for property upon which the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport is situated to the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Such negotiation shall be conducted pursuant to the Executive's contract powers, as defined in Article V of the Home Rule Charter of Allegheny County. Any negotiated sale shall remain subject to the requirement contained within Article IV, Section 2(k) of the Charter that such a conveyance of County property be accomplished by validly enacted ordinance.