Permit applications for shale gas wells within one mile of a Washington County school: Withdrawn.

In October 2014, citizens from Mt. Pleasant Township in Washington County reached out to PennFuture for assistance. Range Resources had submitted three conditional use permit applications to the township board for consideration. The permits, if approved, would allow Range to develop three new natural gas well pads and accessory facilities, two of which would join an already existing well pad, placing three within one mile of the Fort Cherry K-12 school campus. PennFuture provided legal counsel at four well-attended public hearings and was preparing testimony for several more when Range abruptly pulled the applications on Tuesday, February 3, citing economic reasons. 

Washington County is a drilling hot spot in Pennsylvania, with wells popping up across all zoned districts, including in county parks, and by homes and schools. Some residents are fed up with this unchecked expansion, which allows gas development anywhere in the township. Several nearby permit violations by Range Resources, along with heavy truck traffic, around-the-clock noise from generators, and bright lights in an otherwise pastoral setting, prompted a group of citizens to ask that the township deny the approvals that would allow these industrial operations in close proximity to homes and schools - and particularly in areas where persons bought homes in reliance on the area being zoned for only residential development.

In addition to quality of life considerations, residents opposed the permits based on concerns related to a growing body of research documenting the health risks associated with the drilling process. Health professionals and parents alike argue that concentrating diesel truck traffic around families and their homes makes no sense. Diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen as well as an air pollutant linked to a variety of respiratory and heart diseases. Studies such as one conducted in 2014 by McKenzie, et al. revealed that pregnant mothers living within ten miles of natural gas wells had higher incidences of congenital heart diseases in their children. Furthermore, the risk of certain birth defects was positively correlated with increased well density. 

As research continues to reveal real risks, citizens are beginning to look to their local governments for appropriate zoning restrictions on natural gas drilling. 

Mt. Pleasant Township modified its land use ordinance to allow natural gas development across all zoned districts prior to enactment of the state natural gas law (Act 13). In the recent Robinson Township case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down those portions of Act 13 that compelled local municipalities to allow natural gas development across all zoned districts. Mt. Pleasant Township is now in the process of revising its land use ordinance.

In deciding where to permit drilling and where to restrict it, Mt. Pleasant Township faces the same challenge as many municipalities around Pennsylvania: how to strike a balance between shale gas development and protection of the environment and the public’s health and safety. When ruling on components of Act 13 pertaining to local zoning, as set forth in Robinson Township, the Supreme Court made it clear that municipalities cannot allow non-conforming uses in residentially zoned districts – and it goes without saying that shale gas development is not a residential land use.

Valessa Souter-Kline is western Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Pittsburgh. She tweets @ValessaSK.