Township brought action in state court to enjoin owner and lessees of quarry from installing an asphalt plant at the quarry. Owner and lessees removed the action and asserted a counterclaim under the Declaratory Judgment Act seeking a declaration that township’s efforts to regulate the quarry were preempted by Pennsylvania’s Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act, and that an asphalt plant was a permitted accessory use.
The District Court held that:
- District court would accept jurisdiction under Declaratory Judgment Act over claim challenging township’s denial of a permit to operate the quarry;
- District court would abstain from exercising jurisdiction over claim seeking permission to operate an asphalt plant at the quarry; and
- Township lacked authority under Pennsylvania law to regulate the operation of quarry or limit the amount of stone extracted from it.