Judge dismisses appeal of Mt. Pleasant well pad approval
A Washington County judge has dismissed a Robinson Township woman’s appeal of a decision by Mt. Pleasant Township officials to allow a natural gas driller to build a well pad about three-quarters of a mile from Fort Cherry School District’s campus.
Judge Michael J. Lucas found in a nine-page ruling filed Wednesday that evidence presented in Jane Worthington’s case “does not establish that Ms. Worthington has standing based on her proximity to the Yonker well site or on the basis of a properly articulated substantial, direct and immediate interest that is harmed.”
Worthington, whose property is more than three miles from the well site in the neighboring township, has two children attending school in Fort Cherry.
Represented by attorney Jordan Yeager, Worthington claimed in her land-use appeal that Mt. Pleasant supervisors had improperly refused to grant her standing during an August 2016 hearing on Range Resources’ conditional-use application. Supervisors denied her standing but “received her comments” during the proceeding, Lucas’ order said.
Worthington’s appeal was filed Oct. 28, 2016, a month after officials approved the driller’s plans.