Planners to review drilling for gas in Collier
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To drill or not to drill -- that is the question in Collier.
With a large expanse of centuries-old Marcellus shale within its boundary, the township and its residents are being courted by energy companies interested in extracting gas from the ground.
Interested, but cautious, commissioners in June voted to advertise an ordinance amendment that would define and restrict gas and oil drilling. That brought out a standing-room-only crowd Aug. 12 to learn more from the energy companies and to offer comments.
CNX Gas Corp., Range Resources and Principal Energy, as well as an attorney representing a property owner, were at the meeting, too.
There are at least three pending contracts between gas companies and township property owners, but none are in the three drilling areas specified by the proposed ordinance, which is being sent back to the planning commission for further review. The commissioners will hold another public hearing before deciding on the matter.
The targeted areas include the Campbells Run corridor, the hollow by Lane Block in Fort Pitt and the industrial district on Mayer Street in Kirwan Heights.
Commissioner Bill Snider asked how the areas were determined.
"They had the least amount of conflicts," responded Kevin Smay, planning commission vice president.
He said planners reviewed case law, ordinances and studied properties in preparing the ordinance amendment.
Planners were concerned about forest preservation, storm water runoff, road damage and noise, air and stream pollution, as well as additional demand for such local services as police, fire and EMS.
Solicitor Chuck Means said the outlying areas were picked to limit gas theft from wellheads in neighboring communities.
There are two types of wellheads -- horizontal and vertical. Though vertical ones can be erected on as little as one acre, horizontal wellheads need three to five cleared acres. It takes two months of noisy drilling through 8,000 feet of rock to construct the wellheads, but after that the gas extraction process is silent and can yield monetary profits for years to property owners.
Steven Moraca of Baldwin Road Extension, who along with some neighbors signed agreements with one of the gas companies in May, wondered what would happen to those deals under the proposed ordinance.
His 50-acre property is not in any of the designated areas.
"How is it in the best interest of me and my neighbors if the township prevents us from participating in this economic boom?" he asked, adding that gas drilling in his area "wouldn't bother anybody but the trespassing hunters."
Bill Bane, a fourth-generation landowner of 38 acres on Cowan Road, had a different view.
"I would much rather have a wellhead next to me than a bunch of houses," he said.
First Published August 20, 2009 5:34 am
