Feb 25, 2015 6 min read

MATHER – Jefferson-Morgan Multi-Municipal Zoning Hearing Board heard testimony Tuesday on plans by a developer to construct a water filling station on Route 188, just west of Jefferson, for tanker trucks serving the natural gas industry.

After two hours of receiving comments, the board continued the hearing until next month, asking the developer for additional information on the highway entrance permit it received for the site from the state Department of Transportation.

Bell’s Bridge LLP requested a special exception to develop the station on 2.75 acres of land at 1318 Jefferson Road. The area is zoned single-family residential. However, mineral extraction support services are permitted in that zone under the zoning ordinance with the granting of a special exception.

The hearing Tuesday was the second held on the application. At a hearing in June, the board denied the special exception. The company appealed to Greene County Court and in December, the court remanded the case back to the board for a new hearing.

Testimony heard Tuesday followed pretty much in line with that presented at the June hearing.

Bell’s Bridge and its supporters maintain the station will not increase truck traffic on the road and will actually help reduce the number of tanker trucks now passing through Jefferson that fill their tanks in Fredericktown or Dry Tavern and service gas wells west of the borough.

Those opposing the plan claim the station amounts to placing an industrial operation in a rural, residential area.

Trucks entering the highway at this site, about 300 yards from Jefferson-Morgan High School and in an area where sight distances are limited, also would create a safety hazard for motorist on Route 188, they said.

The company proposed leasing the station exclusively to EQT; however, EQT is no longer involved in the plan, said David Pollock, who along with Tim Faddis and Gary Filbey, are partners in Bell’s Bridge.

The company will agree to lease the station to only one drilling company, restrict its use when buses and students are coming to and leaving school each day and post signs on Route 188 warning motorists of trucks entering the highway, Pollock said.

The company still believes the station will help reduce truck traffic on Route 188 through Jefferson, he said. Drilling companies with well sites east of Jefferson would probably not want to use the site because there are closer existing water filling stations in Dry Tavern and Fredericktown.

In addition, the development of more water filling stations throughout the county, including the one proposed by Bell’s Bridge, will help reduce tanker truck traffic overall by reducing distances trucks must travel to get water, he said.

Since the last hearing, Bell’s Bridge also had obtained a highway entrance permit for the site from PennDOT. PennDOT, taking into account sight distances for motorists traveling on Route 188, has determined vehicles can safely enter and exit the property, Pollock said.

Board members had questions about the permit, however, noting documents the company provided only indicated approval was for a low-volume entrance permit with average daily traffic between 51 and 1,500 vehicles a day.

Board chairman David Smerezniak said he wanted to know if PennDOT had considered the types of vehicles that would use the site. He said he assumed PennDOT would take into consideration differences between cars and heavy trucks leaving the site. Heavy trucks would obviously take a longer time to pull out onto the highway.

John Knapik, an engineer who formerly worked in permitting for PennDOT and who filed the permit application for Bell’s Bridge, said the application was filed through the “efile” system making it difficult to get a copy.

Knapik said the permit was based on traffic volume and sight distances but he wasn’t sure whether it required information about the types of vehicles using the site. Filbey said, however, he had spoken to the head of permitting at PennDOT and PennDOT knew the site would be used by tanker trucks.

Several people spoke in favor of the station. Faddis, who is also chairman of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority from whose system the station will draw water, said the increased water sales would help the authority keeps its rates low.

Resident J.L. Goslin said he believed reducing the distances trucks have to travel to transport water would reduce wear and tear on roads and be a benefit from a traffic safety standpoint.

People also spoke against the proposal.

Richard Knight, an adjoining property owner, asked why the station had to be placed in a residential area when numerous other locations exist that could be used that are zoned for commercial or industrial uses.

“They’re trying to put an industrial site in a rural residential area,” he said. Isn’t preserving the character of a community, he asked, “the reason for setting up zoning.”

Knight also said the company failed to meet the criteria for a special exception, which requires it show the use would not change the character nor cause a detrimental impact on the community.

Resident Carl Johnson said he was concerned about the sight distances at the site for motorists on Route 188. Trucks that will be pulling out onto the highway will be moving slowly, he said. At the same time, traffic on Route 188 traveling west from the school must pass over a rise in the road lessening the sight distance.

Alan Rafail, a retired teacher and driving instructor at Jefferson-Morgan, said restrictions on the station’s use at the start and end of the school day fail to take into account the fact the school is used many times in the evenings and on weekends for events.

It takes longer for a truck to pull out onto a highway and if a student approaching the site would take his eyes off the road, even just to check a text from home, it could cause a crash, he said.

The elderly and people not familiar with the road also could have problems encountering trucks leaving the station, he said. “I don’t think this is a good place to put this,” he said.

Both Bell’s Bridge and residents opposed to the project submitted petitions supporting their respective positions.

Following testimony, the board met in executive session for about an hour and upon returning to regular session agreed to continue the hearing until 6 p.m. March 31. Bell’s Bridge was asked to submit its complete application for the highway entrance permit approved by PennDOT.