County should do more to control Marcellus shale
I’m confused! For nearly two years I have been told, repeatedly, by most of our county officialdom that there is nothing that the county can do to manage, direct, or control where Marcellus shale drilling may or may not occur. I have been repeatedly told that the state is in charge of all decisions on everything dealing with this new industry. When I asked how this could be so, I was told, even by lawyers in this county, that the Pennsylvania Coal and Gas Act of 1968, the federal Coal and Gas Act, and the Pennsylvania Municipalities Code give the state control over the development of the gas industry. I never believed it, but I was never able to convince anyone to accept my interpretation of the municipalities code. Only the minority county commissioner kept an open mind on the topic.
Now, I hear that the city of Pittsburgh passed an ordinance to stop all drilling within the city’s boundaries, that Whitehall, a Pittsburgh suburb, has used land zoning ordinances to restrict drilling to four designated districts. I also have learned that Chartiers Township has a gas industry noise ordinance and that other municipalities within the state have and are applying their zoning regulations to manage land use, noise, viewsheds, etc. within their jurisdictions.
Sometime in 2008, I became aware of the Marcellus shale operations in Fayette. I noticed increasing requests for permits to explore, drill, and develop drilling sites and transmission systems in the county. I brought this before an appropriate county committee and later to the three county commissioners. I asked that we begin to develop the necessary ordinances and zoning [land use] decisions to ensure that the Marcellus industry would occur in an orderly, safe, and planned manner. I was told that there was nothing we could do and nothing to worry about. I insisted that the county could and should amend the county zoning/land use ordinance. I was ignored.
All of Fayette County land has been divided into zones based on locally determined permitted land use. The Municipalities Act gives all Pennsylvania counties or municipalities the right to control local land use. The Fayette County Planning Commission, the Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board [ZHB], the County Planning and Zoning Office, and the three commissioners are the major players in all zoning [land use] issues under county control [31 out of 42 municipalities], with the three commissioners having the final say.
The Fayette Zoning/land use areas are divided into eleven districts: Agriculture Rural [A-1]; Low Density Residential [R-A]; Moderate Density Residential [R-1]; High Density residential [R-2]; Conservation [C]; Business/Commercial [B-1]; Business/Commercial [B-2]; Light Industrial [M-1]; Heavy Industrial [M-2]; Airport Hazard Overlay[AH]; Floodplain Overlay [FO].
Oil/gas wells are currently either permitted or permitted by special exception in eight of the current districts. Only the B-1 and B-2 districts are off-limits to gas/oil wells. I asked that at least the two Residential [R-1/R 2] and the conservation districts be removed from the permitted list. My request fell on deaf ears.
So now, because of inaction, whether unintentional or knowing, Fayette County is poised for a new land/resource boom and grab. The general community is left unprotected. The large land owners in the eight permitted or special exception districts can lease their land and collect royalties while the general community has to deal with the collateral “damage.” This is your local government at work.
Finally – for public information:
[1] AZHB public hearing on proposed gas-well drilling near Phillips, North Union township, has been rescheduled for 10 a.m. on Dec. 15 at the Public Service Building;
[2] The droning sound over the mountains in North Union are mapping operations which precede seismic testing for gas deposits;
[3] For more information on these items, call your local officials or the county zoning office;
[4] for extensive information on Marcellus shale matters visit mshaletaskforce.org.
Information is power and maybe the only hope for those without enough property to attract a gas drilling operation.
Evelyn Hovanec is a resident of North Union Township.