Jan 27, 2015 2 min read

McMURRAY – Peters Township Council agreed Monday to form a committee comprised of members of council and and the township planning commission to study how the township zoning ordinance can be changed to accommodate natural gas drilling.

David Ball, council chairman, said it is not a given that Peters has to have a zoning ordinance that allows drilling, but the township needs to have sound reasoning behind whatever it decides to do.

The township held a public hearing Jan. 19 to gather input from residents about gas drilling and proposed changes to its zoning ordinance that would permit drilling in industrial-zoned areas, which cover roughly 150 acres throughout the township.

“What we do has to be right and thought out,” Ball said. “None of us are geophysical engineers.”

The township is in a bit of a Catch-22 when it comes to zoning. Because of changes in state law, Peters must eliminate the Mineral Extraction Overlay District, which would have allowed drilling in 15 areas of the township, all zoned residential. Further complicating matters for council, as well as the township as a whole, is its reputation as a residential community.

To date, no gas wells have been drilled in Peters.

There are, however, gas wells in neighboring communities.

“We need to plan and then say, ‘This is what we want to do,'” said Ball, who asked fellow council members to serve on the planning committee. Council members Monica Merrell and Robert Lewis agreed to be part of the committee, which will include three still-not-named members of the township planning commission.