Drilling war in Peters fought on the ballot
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Concerned residents of Peters Township sponsored a meeting at the Rolling Hills Country Club about the Home Rule Charter Referendum. In the meeting, resident Sue Smith raised concern about a direct mail advertisement she received.
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Amid the sea of colorful, plastic campaign signs scattered around Peters are angrier, bolder signs flapping in the wind, screaming "VOTE NO!! Protect Your Township," and "Vote Yes! Protect Our Property Values."
They are part of the battle for the hearts and minds of voters in this affluent municipality of about 21,000 residents.
The fight, which has already garnered attention from the national media, pits residents and energy companies who advocate drilling in the Marcellus Shale gas formation against a citizens group that is seeking to ban it in Washington County's most populous municipality through a voter referendum on Tuesday.
"This issue is immense," said Ben Price, projects director for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, a Mercersburg, Pa.-based nonprofit that has assisted residents in Peters and other municipalities with getting referendums on the ballot to ban gas drilling. "We have to stop talking about it in terms of a fracking or drilling problem. They are all symptoms of a disease. It's the denial of fundamental rights of people."
The referendum in Peters is believed to be one of the first cases in the country in which voters will have a chance to have their voices heard regarding energy policy, specifically whether drilling -- and the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" -- should be allowed in their neighborhoods.
There are similar referendums elsewhere in Pennsylvania. Voters in the city of Warren in Warren County and the borough of State College, home to Penn State and 42,000 residents, will decide on whether to approve a ballot proposal that would establish a Bill of Rights ensuring clean air and water. It would also ban gas well drilling, pipelines, compressor stations and related gas extraction activities.
All of these could be moot, however. Last week, an administration-drafted provision in natural gas drilling legislation moved out of a House committee (and toward an anticipated quick vote ) that stated that all local rules for oil and gas operations would be superseded by state regulations. If both the Senate and House approve such legislation, state law would apparently trump all local efforts at regulating the industry.
Officials from each area have very different ideas about what the referendums could mean for their constituents.
First Published November 6, 2011 12:00 am
