Municipal regulations giving gas drillers headaches, bills
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The natural gas wells in Cecil look a little different than those found across the border in Mount Pleasant.
The Cecil wells have sound barriers that surround the rig, and the ponds that store water left over from operations come with netting designed to keep out birds and wildlife.
The differences between the Washington County locales, two of the state's most industry-active townships, are the result of a 2-year-old state Supreme Court decision. The court put power to regulate the natural gas industry into the hands of the communities where drillers are tapping the Marcellus Shale rock formation for the lucrative natural gas stored deep underground.
Across the state, board supervisors and town solicitors are drafting ordinances that rein in an industry that in turn sees the multitude of small-town regulations as unnecessary and costly hurdles that delay operations.
The prospect of individual ordinances in a state with so many municipalities has already started playing out in Western Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, council members in Murrysville are expected to vote on a proposal to regulate the seismic testing that's used to find natural gas locked thousands of feet underground. If passed, the ordinance would require companies to obtain a $500 permit before beginning seismic activities.
"There's probably about 30 municipalities that we've worked with in the past year on crafting ordinances," said Matt Pitzarella, the director of public affairs at Range Resources, a Fort Worth, Texas-based energy company that opened an office in Southpointe to oversee its massive Marcellus operations.
The ordinance issue has taken a more dramatic turn in Mount Pleasant, where the board of supervisors is working to draft a "conditional use ordinance" that would treat each rig with unique regulations. A site near a school might require more stringent sound mitigation, for example, than a site located miles from the nearest resident.
First Published April 19, 2011 12:00 am
