The proposed 25-page ordinance also gives property owners the ability to waive the setback, however, all property owners within the 2,500 foot setback must agree to a waiver.
The setbacks for schools and hospitals cannot be waived under the ordinance.
Well pads must also be located not less than 1,000 feet from any residential lot line.
The ordinance also includes provisions requiring an environmental impact analysis to “describe, identify and analyze all environmental aspects of the site and of neighboring properties that may be affected by the proposed operations or the ultimate use proposed to be conducted on the site.”
The ordinance also sets requirements for other oil and gas development facilities “which employ the use of compressors, motors or engines as part of the operations and/or produce air-contaminant emissions or offensive odors, subsurface facilities, including horizontal drilling facilities, gathering system facilities and production facilities.”
Click Here for a copy of the ordinance.
Click Here for a more detailed summary of the ordinance.
Many residents' pleas to the Board of Supervisors for increased setback distances have been based on their negative experiences of living near well pads and or the growing list of peer-reviewed research linking poor health outcomes to people living in close proximity to fracking. That public engagement has been crucial.
This is not a ban on drilling in Cecil Township.
There are five existing well pads that will be grandfathered in and that cover more than 60% of the township.
In addition, land owners who want to waive the 2,500 foot setback and have drilling on their property can do so, as long as everyone within that buffer zone agrees.
The ordinance was as a follow-up to a series of four public hearings held by the Township on the issue of regulating shale gas well pads. Read more here.
A fifth hearing was held right before the Supervisors voted on November 4.
Click Here for a video of the Supervisors meeting. Click Here for a video of the November 4 hearing on the ordinance.
Reactions
Janice Blanock, a Cecil resident who lost her son Luke to Ewing sarcoma, said-- “I would like to thank the Cecil Township Supervisors for doing what's right to protect the residents. For the ones who abstained, we will remember that! It's been a long, tough road. I have attended and spoke at all of the hearings and I feel very proud to say I live in Cecil. This victory gives me hope for the future and honors my son's memory.”
Sarah Martik, Executive Director of the Center for Coalfield Justice, a Cecil resident, said- “This is a victory 15 years in the making. It really shows what people who work together and persist can accomplish. Despite industry’s threats and intimidation, the board of supervisors made clear that the people, not the mega corporations, who call Cecil Township home are their first priority. We hope this sets an example for other communities to follow.”
(Photos: top- Range Resources Augustine Drill Pad in Cecil Township; Augustine Drill Pad showing scale of operation; bottom- Map of Shale gas wells (red dots), conventional oil and gas wells (blue/green dots) in Cecil Township (DEP Oil & Gas Program); 523 feet from nearest house; Well pad gas flare from bedroom window near Augustine well pad (WTAE). Other photos Courtesy of The Energy Age Blog.)
Resource Links:
-- Cecil Township Supervisors Direct Solicitor To Prepare Ordinance Increasing Setbacks From Shale Gas Well Pads By At Least 2,500 Feet; Another Hearing, Vote Expected Nov. 4 [PaEN]
NewsClips - Washington County:
-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: As Fracking Turns 20 In Pennsylvania, Towns Consider New Regulations For Distance Between Homes And Well Pads [Cecil Twp., Washington County] [PDF of Article]
-- Observer-Reporter Letter: There’s Another Side To The ‘Shale Gas Revolution’
-- DEP Invites Comments On New Air Pollution Permit For Revolution Natural Gas Cryogenic Processing Plant In Washington County; Plant Suffered Major Explosion, Fire In 2022 [PaEN]
-- The Energy Age Blog: Fracking In Cecil Township, Washington County [3.26.24]
-- The Energy Age Blog: Right To A Healthy Life For Babies Near Fracking - Testimony of Dr. Ned Ketyer At Sept. 4, 2024 Cecil Township Hearing
-- The Energy Age Blog: Fracking: Have A Heart For Seniors In Pennsylvania - Medical Evidence Of Fracking Harm from Sept. 4, 2024 Cecil Township Hearing
Resource Links - Increasing Gas Infrastructure Safety Zones:
Resource Links - Washington County Gas Development:
-- Click Here to search for Washington County articles in PA Environment Digest. These are just a few--
Resource Links: Gas Health, Safety Impacts Washington County:
-- Shale Gas & Public Health Conference: When It Started, It Was Kind Of Nice, But What Happened Afterwards Really Kind Of Devastated Our Community [Marianna Boro, Washington County] [PaEN]
-- Inside Climate News: Q/A With Eliza Griswold Pulitzer Winning Author Of Deep Dive Into Fracking In PA, How Extractive Industries ‘Gut’ Communities [Including Washington County] [PaEN]
-- Observer-Reporter: Explosion, Fire At Energy Transfer’s Revolution Natural Gas Cryogenic -- Plant Burned For Nearly 11 Hours On Christmas Day In Smith Twp., Washington County [PaEN]
-- DEP Fines Range Resources $198,920 For Air Quality Violations In Washington County [PaEN]
-- Range Resources Shale Gas Water Pipeline Suffers Blowout In Washington County [PaEN]
Penalties + Criminal Charges - Washington County:
Gas vs. Coal Development Impacts - Washington County
-- Center for Coalfield Justice Blog: Update On Underground Longwall Coal Mining In Greene, Washington Counties; Next DEP Report On Longwall Impacts Due… Soon [PaEN]
More Articles:
Note: Click Here to search for Washington County articles in PA Environment Digest.
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - November 2 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On New Air Pollution Permit For Revolution Natural Gas Cryogenic Processing Plant In Washington County; Plant Suffered Major Explosion, Fire In 2022 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 82 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In November 2 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles Last Week:
-- DEP Discovers Wastewater Release At Bear Lake Properties Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Warren County During Routine Inspection [PaEN]
-- Bradford Era: 7-Part Series Details Concerns Residents Of Cyclone, McKean County Have With Catalyst Energy Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well [PaEN]
-- Joint Meeting Of DEP Citizens Advisory Council, Environmental Justice Advisory Board Nov. 12 On Oil & Gas Methane Emissions Reductions; Hydrogen Hubs [PaEN]
-- Environmental Quality Board To Consider Proposed Spill Notification Regulation; Blasting; NOx & VOC Corrections Nov. 12 [PaEN]
-- Low-Flow Water Conditions Trigger Big Jump In Susquehanna River Basin Water Withdrawal Restrictions, Most Shale Gas-related [PaEN]
NewsClips Last Week:
-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: As Fracking Turns 20 In Pennsylvania, Towns Consider New Regulations For Distance Between Homes And Well Pads [Cecil Twp., Washington County] [PDF of Article]
-- The Derrick - Randy Bartley: Priority To Plug Old Conventional Oil, Gas Wells Deepens For DEP [PDF of Article]
-- The Derrick - Randy Bartley: Plugging A Problem Abandoned Conventional Gas Well [PDF of Article]
Related Articles This Week:
-- Cecil Township Supervisors In Washington County Adopt 2,500 Setback From Shale Gas Well Pads From Homes, Businesses, 5,000 Foot Setback From Hospitals, Schools [PaEN]
-- Protect PT, Three Rivers Waterkeeper Appeal DEP Permits For CNX Slickville Natural Gas, Shale Gas Wastewater Pipelines Project In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
NewsClip:
-- Marcellus Drilling News: Coterra Energy Expands Curtailment Of Marcellus Drilling, Fracking; No Rigs In Marcellus Due To Low Prices [PDF of Article]
[Posted: November 5, 2024] PA Environment Digest
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