Olympus Energy wanted to drill six shale gas wells on the Heracles well pad in Elizabeth Township on the east bank of the Monongahela River about 2,400 feet from a high school.
Elizabeth Township approved the plan in January 2023 and the case made its way to Commonwealth Court.
Food and Water Watch said-- The Court ruled that the Elizabeth Township Board of Commissioners acted improperly when it approved the development, which is located in a residential zone just 1,700 feet from the Elizabeth Forward High School.
“This is a powerful affirmation of what we’ve been saying all along: the people of Elizabeth Township were right, and our local government got it wrong,” said Scott Taylor, President of Protect Elizabeth Township, the group behind the lawsuit. “We fought this every step of the way because our health, our safety, and our homes are worth protecting. This ruling proves that zoning laws matter and exist to shield communities from exactly this kind of harmful development.”
The Court reversed a lower court decision and found that the Board had erroneously approved the companies’ conditional use applications. At issue was the fact that the proposed fracking infrastructure — including a well pad, interconnect pad, pipeline and access roads — would have introduced multiple new principal structures on residential lots that already contained single family homes.
According to the Court, this violated Section 303(C) of the Township’s zoning ordinance, which prohibits more than one principal structure on such lots.
The ruling rejected arguments made by the Township solicitor and developers that the Township’s oil and gas ordinance overrode other zoning provisions, affirming that basic zoning protections still apply to oil and gas development. The Court emphasized that zoning ordinances must be interpreted to give full effect to all their provisions – not selectively disregarded.
“This win is not just about Elizabeth Township,” said Megan McDonough, Pennsylvania State Director with Food & Water Watch, a leading group organizing local oil and gas opposition in the state. “It’s a blueprint for how communities everywhere can use their local ordinances to stand up to powerful interests. When residents organize, testify, and use the law to defend their children and neighbors, we can win.”
The decision follows months of public hearings and years of grassroots resistance by Township residents, who argued the project posed unacceptable risks to public health and safety – particularly due to its proximity to schools and residential neighborhoods. Despite expert testimony and strong public opposition, the Township approved the project in January 2023.
“This is why local control matters,” added Joelle Whiteman, Township Resident and Food & Water Watch Senior Organizer. “Residents know best what belongs in their communities. This ruling upholds our right to use zoning laws to protect ourselves, and it sends a message to any developer thinking they can bully their way through small towns: not here, not anymore.”
Protect Elizabeth Township is reviewing next steps and calling on the Township to adopt stronger, clearer zoning protections to prevent future attempts at industrial development in residential neighborhoods.
Click Here for a copy of the Commonwealth Court decision. (courtesy of Marcellus Drilling News)
(Photo: Proposed Hercules shale gas well site with the nearby high school. Pittsburgh Business Times, Olympus Energy.)
NewsClips:
-- Marcellus Drilling News: PA Commonwealth Court Overrules Township Approval Of Olympus Wells [PDF of Article]
-- Food & Water Watch: PA Court Overturns Heracles Decision
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - June 21 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 60 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 21 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
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-- Cecil Twp. Zoning Hearing Board Dismisses Range Resources Validity Challenge To 2,500 Foot Setback Ordinance For Shale Gas Wells In Washington County [PaEN]
-- Marcellus Drilling News: Commonwealth Court Overturns Elizabeth Townships’s Approval Of Olympus Energy Shale Gas Wells, Infrastructure In Allegheny County [PaEN]
-- Protect PT Will Appeal EHB Decision To Allow CNX Resources To Drill Shale Gas Wells Just Hundreds Of Feet From Homes In Penn Twp., Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 38 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In May; 225 In 2025 [PaEN]
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-- Independent Fiscal Office Estimates CY 2025 Act 13 Drilling Impact Fee Revenues At $235 Million, $70 Million More Than CY 2024 [PaEN]
-- PUC Pipeline Safety Programs Earn Top Marks From Federal Evaluators
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NewsClips:
-- TribLive: Protect PT Appeals Environmental Hearing Board Approval Of 2 Penn Twp. Shale Gas Well Permits In Westmoreland
-- WVIA: UGI, PUC Settle Natural Gas Eruption Case That Killed A Woman In Monroe County
-- CNN: EPA Telling Some Staff To Stop Policing The Oil & Gas Industry
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