Jan 14, 2015 4 min read

Proposed changes to South Strabane Township’s oil and gas ordinance appear to have stalled amid concerns by some township residents who think the rules need sharper legal teeth and complaints by others who say it goes too far in regulating the drilling industry.

A public hearing Tuesday night showcased deep divisions within the community on how to regulate compressor stations, water impoundments and processing facilities, which prompted township officials to ask the ordinance’s chief architect to come back in two weeks to answer questions about the proposal.

Carolyn Yagle, a consultant hired to work with the township’s planning commission, walked the supervisors and public through the ordinance proposal, but her presentation prompted feedback that raised questions whether it could be adopted soon or must be rewritten. The updates are designed to “specifically address gaps” in the previous ordinance proposal from late 2011 that was never ratified, she said.

“I think what’s been given is a wide view and a wide range of comments to consider,” Yagle said of the nearly yearlong process to draft the proposal.

However, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Keisling suggested the ordinance needs “complete and concise” legal definitions that could hold up in court should the township face a lawsuit from the drilling industry.

“If I were a schoolteacher grading it, I wouldn’t give it a very good grade for what it does tying it to case law,” Keisling said. “I think more detail would be helpful overall.”

The ordinance defines a variety of drilling terms and determines where and under what conditions compressor stations, water impoundments and processing facilities can be located in the township. It also zones shallow well drilling, but does not broach the subject of deep well drilling that includes the Marcellus and Utica shales. That issue is expected to be debated later this year, but a lack of consensus within the community on the first phase of the ordinance overseeing auxiliary functions illustrates the overarching difficulty in writing the rest of the law.

“I think we can see the heaviness of this problem’s development,” Keisling said. “The job for the supervisors is not making wealth for people … it’s to protect the welfare of the citizens here and worry about the land values. Hopefully we can make it work.”

Township resident Craig Winters suggested the 1,500-foot setback for compressor stations from occupied buildings is too restrictive and that the ordinance would eliminate most places in the township to develop. Max Junker, a lawyer representing Columbia Midstream Group that wants to construct a “dehydration and separation facility” on 220 acres of agricultural land near Davis School and Munce Ridge roads, said that setback length and the numerous conditions would make it nearly impossible to build anywhere in the township. He said the most recent changes to the ordinance have eliminated compressor stations from agricultural zones, making it illegal to build the facility there.

“We’ve made no bones about it … that at some point we are looking to put compressor station (there),” Junker said.

Not everyone thinks such regulation is a bad thing. Don Lambert, chairman of the township’s zoning board, said he thinks the ordinance should restrict these auxiliary uses to industrial areas as currently written.

“Maybe we can mitigate it and make the risk a little smaller for people like me,” Lambert said. “Most people don’t want compressor stations in their backyard. I sure as hell don’t. It’s clearly an industrial operation to me.”

The supervisors voted 3-1 to have Yagle address questions from the community and return with answers at their Jan. 27 voting meeting. Supervisor Dan Piatt voted against the decision because he did not think that gave Yagle adequate time, while Supervisor Laynee Zipko, who is also a member of the planning commission, abstained.

Township solicitor Thomas Lonich suggested that the supervisors move forward with a decision on the ordinance in the near future rather than leaving it “open-ended” indefinitely. Yagle and the planning commission expect to move forward with the second phase of the drilling ordinance dealing with deep wells later this year.