Zoning hearing board approves three Marcellus shale gas wells
The Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday approved a special exception for a company to drill three Marcellus shale natural gas wells on property in Springhill Township.
Chevron Appalachia LLC, with an office in Smithfield, was granted the approval for the wells, which will be drilled on property zoned M-1, light industrial owned by Donna and Kelly Chico of National Pike, Uniontown. The property is located on Lake Lynn Road.
Richard Bower, attorney for Chevron, explained that the company acquired all the assets of Atlas America, of which this lease was a part.
Bower said three horizontal wells will be drilled on the 19.9-acre site, which also will include access roads, production equipment and the installation of pipelines.
Bower said during the drilling and hydraulic fracturing portion, work would be ongoing 24 hours a day. He said drilling and fracking would take two weeks each and site preparation would take six weeks and reclamation would take six weeks.
When the wells are drilled, a well head and tanks will remain.
Bower said the closest house is nearly 800 feet away. He said the three horizontal “legs” of the wells will extend 3,687, 3,525 and 3,504 feet, respectively.
While there will be ponds on site during the drilling operation, they will be reclaimed after it is finished. Bower said there will be security on the site 24 hours a day during the drilling operations.
Although a few people attended the hearing, none offered any comment about the proposal.
In approving the motion, the zoning board stated that the company must meet all local, state and federal regulations and granted a variance from the requirements to plant shrubbery at the site.