Murrysville committee will advise on gas drilling rules
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Supplying information on deep-well drilling into Marcellus shale has become a top priority for Murrysville council.
As a result, council agreed last week to create an ad hoc committee that will advise it on the development of rules and regulations as they pertain to the drilling, which could start later this year.
"This is something that we feel can help us along in this process," council President Joan Kearns said at the May 19 meeting.
Ms. Kearns will serve on the committee with fellow council members Dave Perry and Jeff Kepler.
Residents Fred Baldassare, Gary McCloskey, Jayne Hoy, Bob Stemler, Scott Blauvelt and Dave Rockman also were appointed to the committee.
Mr. Blauvelt is a geologist and Mr. Baldassare works with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The committee can recommend areas where council needs to strengthen existing ordinances and create new ordinances regarding the Marcellus shale. It will recommend processes that will protect the interests of Murrysville's residents, Ms. Kearns added.
Residents and council have been preparing themselves since April, when representatives of Range Resources, a gas company based in Washington County, hosted a public hearing about the rich deposits of natural gas in a layer of rock called the Marcellus shale deep under the Earth's surface.
If council approves and drilling begins, it most likely would occur in a field near the intersection of Logan Ferry and Saltsburg roads. A public information session on the proposed drilling will take place at 6:30 p.m. June 16, before the regularly scheduled council meeting.
First Published May 27, 2010 6:38 am
