Aug 31, 2015 3 min read

Peters Township officials are negotiating a potential gas lease with EQT Corp. about a gas well it is planning to build in a neighboring township.

EQT’s planned well project is on Lutes Road in Nottingham Township – approximately a quarter-mile from Peters – just off Venetia Road. Peters officials said EQT plans to do horizontal drilling at the site, which means drilling activities could take place underneath township land.

“We have obtained a quote from EQT and are negotiating,” said Michael Silvestri, Peters Township manager. “I don’t know if council will accept a lease or not.”

Silvestri said the township is in talks with EQT because the well site is not in the township.

The EQT project itself is still in the planning stages, said Linda Robertson, EQT’s media relations and brand manager. According to Nottingham Township, EQT wants to construct a well pad and drilling facility that would accommodate 24 wells. EQT owns the drilling leases on nearly 68 acres of land on Lutes Road and said it owns the contiguous R-1 properties.

“In order to maintain lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships, EQT always works diligently to respect the communities in which we operate and cultivate those ongoing relationships, as is the case with Peters and all townships where we work,” Robertson said.

To date, there are no gas wells in Peters, but there are active wells in neighboring townships. Earlier this year, Peters formed a committee of township officials, along with council and planning commission members to explore the possibility of natural gas drilling in the municipality.

The township is also in the process of revamping its zoning ordinance. Because of changes in state law, Peters must eliminate its Mineral Overlay District, which would have allowed natural gas drilling in 15 areas of the township, all zoned residential. The proposed changes to its zoning laws could be ready for adoption by either spring or summer 2016.

“We anticipate that someone will eventually submit an application to drill in the township and that is why we are looking at our ordinance for revision,” Silvestri said.

Despite not having any wells, Peters received more than $300,000 in impact fees from Act 13, which was signed into law in 2012 by former Gov. Tom Corbett. Act 13 allows the state to collect fees from unconventional gas wells and then to distribute to state and local entities affected by drilling. In Peters case, the amount it receives is based on population and the number of wells in or near the township, Silvestri said. With a population of more than 20,000, Peters in the most-populated township in Washington County.