Aug 19, 2010 By Steve Ferris 4 min read

The Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved the Perry Township Municipal Authority’s request for a special exception and setback variances to build a sewage pumping station in Whitsett. Authority solicitor Richard A. Husband said the pump would be used to extend sewer service to the Whitsett, Banning Hill and Rehoboth Church Road areas.

He said the zoning board approved a special exception for another pump station on Rehoboth Church Road a few months ago.

The new pump would be built on Main Street near the corner of River Road on property zoned for agricultural use owned by David Weiss and Phyllis Barr of Pittsburgh.

Husband said the authority has a sales agreement with the property owners.

The station would be 220 feet from the nearest home and the last building on Main Street, said authority engineer David Coldren.

Coldren said the pumping station would consist of two manholes and a control structure that would protrude 3 feet above the ground. No outdoor lighting would be installed.

To comply with state Department of Environmental Protection requirements, the station would be enclosed with a fence and have an emergency generator, Coldren said, noting that the authority is in the process of obtaining a DEP permit for the station.

The authority has a contract with H&H Water Controls of Carmichaels to maintain the station and property, he said.

Coldren requested a 15-foot variance from the required 50-foot side yard setback and a 9.85-foot variance from the required 120-foot front yard setback.

A third variance request was for a huge reduction from the required lot size of 80,000 square fee to 14,157 square feet.

The variances are needed to minimize the impact of the station on the surrounding area, Coldren said.

In a separate matter, the zoning hearing board voted to issue a ruling within 45 days on a special exception request from Burnett Oil Co. and Oil Gas Management Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas, to build a compressor station for Marcellus shale natural gas on Route 857 in Springhill Township.

Burnett engineer Bart Walker said the station would send gas through pipelines to a Columbia Gas line, also on Route 857.

The station would be built on land owned by Costal Forest Products of Buchanan, W.Va., Walker said.

It would be 910 feet from the nearest home, he said. A fence and evergreen trees would be placed around the perimeter for security and to block the view of the facility, he said.

The facility would have up to six state-of-the-art, fully automated compressors with alarms that shut down the compressors in the event of an emergency, said engineer Matt Vavro of Butler, who designed the station.

The alarm system would also contact Fayette County 911 and Burnett personnel if a fire or emergency occurs, Walker said.

In the event of a fire, the emergency system isolates the compressors leaving only the gas in the pipes connected to the compressors to burn, he said.

A fire hydrant would be installed outside the station, he said.

The compressors would be enclosed and surrounded by walls that prevent most noise from escaping, but allow air to enter, Walker said.

He said Burnett plans to drill one well near the station this year and one or two more next year. If one well stops producing another would be drilled and 36 to 40 wells could be drilled over the course of many years, he said.

Vavro said the only emissions from the station would be exhaust from the engines that run the compressors.

Water vapor also would be produced, but most of that would be collected, turned into water and hauled away from the station, he said

The engines of the high-tech compressors would be fitted with the highest grade of mufflers available to keep noise at a minimum, he said.