Pa. company sues over Allegheny forest drilling

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A suburban Pittsburgh energy company claims in a federal lawsuit that the U.S. Forest Service is illegally refusing to allow it to drill for gas and oil in the Allegheny National Forest, where it owns mineral rights.

Catalyst Energy Inc. says the Forest Service is requiring it to obtain a notice to proceed, but isn’t issuing the notice. Catalyst also says the notice is unauthorized.

Catalyst says the Forest Service’s refusal to issue the notice is depriving it of its property.

The Forest Service didn’t immediately respond to a message on Monday.

More than 90 percent of mineral rights are privately owned in the Allegheny National Forest, though the government owns the surface rights.