On Sept. 6, a shale gas well pad fire in Mercer County resulted in the evacuation of 15 to 20 homes within a one mile radius of the well pad. 

On Sept. 15, the Butler Township Board of Commissioners likely will approve a well pad on the property of the Krendale Golf Course, zoned R-2, in a densely populated residential neighborhood. 

In the event of a fire at said well pad, an evacuation within a one-mile radius would easily encompass hundreds of homes, as well as Moraine Pointe Plaza, much of Butler Commons, Benbrook Medical Center, the VA Hospital, Lowrie Place Nursing Home and Northwest Elementary School. 

Explosions and blowouts at shale-gas facilities often result in evacuations of an even greater radius, usually two miles. 

I hope that the Butler County Emergency Management Agency has an evacuation plan in place for the Krendale pad, as well as all the other well pads, processing plants and compressor stations in Butler County. I hope that EMA will share those plans with the public, so that residents know where to go in the case of a shale-gas emergency and what routes to take to get there. 

And, I hope that EMA makes that information available to residents who might not have Internet access, such as my in-laws, who live less than a mile away from the proposed Krendale pad. 

While the public’s general perception may be that such incidents are rare, Mercer County has experienced two well pad fires in less than a month. 

Butler Township officials have acted recklessly and irresponsibly in creating an ordinance that permits drilling in residential neighborhoods. The least EMA can do is to give residents the reassurance that there is a safe place to go, and a safe way of getting there, in the event of a well pad emergency.


j.p.m.

A statement given to the Butler Township commissioners.

This past weekend I read a letter to the Butler Eagle about drilling and zoning from Middlesex Twp. I found it very enlightening.

The writer spoke of the overturn of Act 13 that returned zoning powers to municipalities regarding natural gas drilling. That's certainly true. She spoke of the alleged majority of leaseholders in Middlesex that township supervisors were “listening to” in changing their ordinances to allow expanded drilling in the township. I thought: “Okay, that's probably what happened in Butler Township, too.” Lastly, she spoke of DEP's 500-ft. setback as being state law and that no further restrictions were required. I figured that was probably at least a part of Solicitor Lutz's assertion that Butler Twp.'s drilling ordinance is in compliance with state law...

But nowhere in that letter did I see any mention of the Environmental Rights Amendment – Article 1, Section 27 of the PA State Constitution, upon which much of the PA Supreme Court's ruling on Act 13 was based.

As I understand it, from people like Atty. Jordan Yeager and others who were closely associated with this case, the court ruling does indeed return zoning powers to municipalities with regard to shale gas drilling, and it also requires municipalities to zone for drilling in a way that upholds the constitutional protections guaranteed by the Environmental Rights Amendment.

What does that mean? Do you know? Has Penn State Extension been roaming the commonwealth explaining to municipalities how to be in compliance with the revised Act 13 and the Environmental Rights Amendment?

Maybe they have, but I doubt it. I do know that Jordan Yeager has written letters to at least four municipalities in Butler County attempting to explain to them their rights and responsibilities under Act 13 and the Environmental Rights Amendment.

For example, in his letter to Adams Township officials, Atty. Yeager states that an ordinance that allows drilling everywhere would violate the state constitution. Butler Twp. has just such an ordinance.

And in his letter to Butler Twp. officials, Atty. Yeager states that if the township were to change its ordinance so as to no longer allow drilling in all zoning districts, such action would be in compliance with the state constitution and Section 27, and therefore would nullify any charges of “unlawful taking” that the township might incur through such an action.

However, if the township were to persist in allowing drilling to occur in all zoning districts, including residential, Atty. Yeager states that the township would run a “significant and substantial risk” of a constitutional challenge from township residents. Notice that he does not say a “regulatory” challenge – he doesn't mention the drilling ordinance being in violation of DEP regulations – but a constitutional challenge. Four times he mentions this in his letter to the township, once even referring to it as a “Section 27 challenge.”

And, given Atty. Yeager's track record and familiarity with this particular law and this particular court ruling, I don't think he would be mentioning that if he didn't think that such a challenge had a very good chance of being successful...

Consider well, gentlemen. Consider well...

J.P.M.

On April 21, with little fanfare and zero media coverage, the Butler Township Board of Commissioners approved the construction of a Marcellus Shale well pad in a residential area. Details of the drilling site off Schaffner Road in an area zoned R-1 (Single Family Residential) may be found on the township website in the Planning Committee meeting minutes for Apr. 1.

Prior to the passage of Act 13 in Feb. 2012, Butler Township ordinances allowed drilling in agricultural and manufacturing zones only. After Act 13 was passed, the commissioners drafted a letter of support for those municipalities mounting a legal challenge to the zoning prohibitions of Act 13. In December 2013 that challenge was successful, and the PA Supreme Court restored to municipalities their right to zone drilling.

But now that the zoning powers which they once supported have been restored, the Butler Township commissioners seem no longer interested in zoning safeguards with regard to drilling. The current drilling ordinance, adopted in Dec. 2012 to comply with the original version of Act 13, permits drilling in all zones.

I wonder if any other Butler Township residents find this trend disturbing. Or perhaps they have bought into the industry's claims that shale-gas drilling is safe and tightly regulated and there is nothing to worry about. Myself and others have been sharing factual reports to the contrary for years now; if readers aren't yet convinced that this process needs at the very least to be kept out of residential areas, they probably never will be.

Then again, perhaps many township residents have leased their residential properties and so wish for the township's drilling ordinance to remain as it is. But drilling in a residential zone can have costs beyond environmental, health and safety factors. At least one local bank has stated that it would be "very hesitant" to issue a mortgage to a property if a well pad was within close proximity to that property.  Other local banks may have similar policies.  Thus the ordinance allowing residential drilling could potentially put a number of residential properties at risk of being unsellable due to an inability to procure the requisite financing for purchase.

In addition, many area banks will not grant mortgages to leased properties with the clause “Lease has priority over mortgage” or similar language contained in the lease. A search on the Butler County Deeds and Records website has turned up a number of residential leases with such language in Butler Township. This could ultimately have a great negative impact on the township's future growth for the reasons mentioned above. Leaseholders should check with their banks or lending institutions for details and to verify this information.

Finally, there may be those Butler Township residents who are concerned about residential drilling but don't know what they can do, or feel there is nothing they can do, to stop it. These people may be surprised to know that the power of law is on their side. Besides restoring zoning powers, the state Supreme Court's ruling on Act 13 has placed the rights to clean air and enjoyment of property, among other rights, on equal footing with the right to financial gain from one's mineral rights. One can still do the latter, but not at the expense of the former. Furthermore, a lawyer consulted about Butler Township's drilling ordinance stated that a zoning ordinance that allows drilling everywhere is in violation of the state constitution.  He said that municipal officials must by law enact zoning that protects the interests of all residents, not just leaseholders.

A couple years ago I attended a Butler Township commissioners' meeting and was surprised to see a large number of people there to protest a sports complex that had been proposed for their residential neighborhood. The level of organization was remarkable. The complaints and concerns – noise, bright lights, safety, property values – were the same as those I'd heard expressed in meetings elsewhere when shale-gas wells were being discussed. Could that level of organization and concern be brought to bear in the matter of residential well pads in Butler Township?

For those of us who are concerned about drilling in residential areas, the law is on our side. What is lacking is the organization and mobilization of concerned residents. Could we perhaps remedy that situation? Soon? Before the next residential drilling site is approved by Butler Township commissioners?  

j.p.m.