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Cecil Township Supervisors Direct Solicitor To Prepare Ordinance Increasing Setbacks From Shale Gas Well Pads By At Least 2,500 Feet; Another Hearing, Vote Expected Nov. 4

On September 4, Cecil Township, Washington County supervisors voted 3 to 2 to direct their solicitor to prepare an ordinance establishing a 2,500 foot setback from shale gas well pads for protected structures and a 5,000 foot setback from schools and hospitals.

The supervisors said the ordinance will be advertised for a hearing on November 4 starting at 6:00 p.m. and for consideration at a regular meeting of the supervisors the same day starting at 7:00 p.m.

The proposed ordinance will be posted on the Cecil Township website and information will be posted on the Township Facebook page.

The hearing and meeting will be held at the Cecil Township Municipal Building, 3599 Millers Run Road in Cecil.

The supervisors’ vote on preparing the ordinance came after a two-and-a-half hour hearing and special meeting on an outline of a proposed ordinance posted by Supervisor Cindy Fisher and a majority of the supervisors.

The outline included the basic requirement that shale gas well pads be located 2,500 feet away from protected structures, unless all property owners within the 2,500 foot area formally waive that setback requirement.

Current DEP regulations only require 500 feet.

It was also noted there was a provision in the Township’s existing oil and gas ordinance that requires well pads to be at least 1,000 feet from property lines would be retained in the new proposed ordinance.

In response to questions at the hearing about what would happen if a drilling company wanted to add wells to an existing well pad and whether the new setbacks would apply to the new wells, Supervisor Fisher said, “If they want to expand beyond that [original] approval [of wells], they need to come back with an additional application and go through an additional process. And if they did that application now, then whatever ordinance in the form when it passes is what applies.”

During the vote on directing their solicitor to prepare the ordinance, Supervisor Fisher suggested an addition, “My feeling is that it would be 2,500 feet from protected structures, and 5,000 feet from schools and hospitals, because that's what the grand jury recommended.”

The reference to the grand jury is to the 2020 grand jury convened by then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro to review the effectiveness of DEP’s regulation of the shale gas industry. Read more here.

Other supervisors concurred and the 5,000 foot setback was added to the motion to prepare the ordinance, which was then adopted by a vote of 3 to 2.

Excerpts From Hearing Testimony

More than 20 people presented comments during the hearing that preceded the special voting meeting. It was the fourth hearing held by the supervisors on revising the Township’s ordinance regulating oil and gas infrastructure.

Click Here for a video of the hearing and the short special meeting that followed.

Here are excerpts from comments offered by several of the witnesses at the hearing.

-- Eileen Leefer, resident, said, “Range Resources is the primary driller in Cecil with 46 permitted wells. Over the years, they have accrued violations totaling approximately $17 million in fines.

“So far, in 2024, 44% of the DEP inspections ended with violations, and that's according to DEP compliance data.

“As Supervisor Fisher stated earlier, Range [Resources] and other operators don't set out to harm people and the environment beyond the damage done by the process itself.

“But we have enough experience to know that accidents happen, equipment fails, human error and carelessness are facts of life.

“Thank you for acknowledging that the job of the supervisors is to protect residents from what we know can happen.

DEP is understaffed, underfunded, and overwhelmed, and relies heavily on industry self-reporting.

“We know from this township's own experience that operators delay and possibly fail to report.

“On top of it all, Governor Shapiro has struck a deal with CNX to monitor itself, which conveniently found its own operations to be safe. [Read more here.]

“A challenged DEP, a state that allows industry to monitor itself, and an industry that delays reporting, or may not even report at all unless caught means that the burden falls on the township to protect us.

“We the people, we your people. And I thank you so, so much for considering this 2,500 foot setback, and I hope that this passes.”

-- Janice Blanock, resident, said, “I'm sure all of the supervisors are aware of the major violation at the [Range Resources] Augustine well pad several weeks ago on August 9 at 7:17 a.m., which was a failed well casing.

“But I do want to make sure that everyone knows exactly what transpired and what that means.

“In simple terms, the lining of the well that is typically cement, and when it cracks, it can no longer maintain the pressure causing whatever proprietary chemicals that are in there to leak out and pollute our water supply. [See photos of casing here.]

“As if that's not frightening enough, methane and hydrogen sulfide can enter a well through a damaged or corroded well casing and improperly sealed well casing uncased formations and as dissolved gases being released from well water.

“ Methane and hydrogen sulfide gases in the right mixture with air can be highly explosive.

“When a gas company notices a drop in pressure, they are required by law to notify the Department of Environmental Protection immediately.

“The DEP was not notified of the incident until August 12 at 3:45 p.m.

“So for three days Range Resources allowed the opportunity of our groundwater to be polluted with toxic chemicals and the very real and dangerous possibility of an explosion.

“Now, I can't imagine anyone living in this township, whether you're a supervisor or whether you are a range employee, a leaseholder, or a community member looking for a safe and healthy environment to live and raise a family, think that that's okay. Raise of hand.

“Anybody think that's okay? No. Absolutely not.

“So this in itself is the exact reason why it is not only necessary to adopt a 2,500 foot setback, but it's urgent”

-- Gary Lipner, resident and retired professional firefighter, said, “We voluntarily were taken by Range [Resources] to the Augustine well site. I was kind of shocked at the lack of on-site security and how easy it would be for someone to cause a disaster.

“I've seen disasters. They are unplanned and scary because you just don't know how they're going to react. You never know.

“I have courses in fire science; understanding what fire and disasters do is really complicated. Every scenario is different.

“I also was kind of surprised at when I asked one of the tour guides what happens when there's a disaster, and he said to me, "Well, we call a contractor."

“Where is this contractor coming from? So if it's on Thanksgiving, does he come or is he having turkey with his family?

“The volunteer firefighters here in Cecil Township, are they trained in a disaster like this?

“Is there a hazmat team nearby that is also trained in gas and oil disasters? I haven't seen anything to prove any of those facts.

“We've all seen East Palestine [Norfolk Southern train derailment]. We've all seen shootings. We've all seen disasters, houses that blow up in neighborhoods.

“Things happen and they will continue to happen, but we need to have the training and expertise that you can provide us with a 2,500-foot setback. Thank you.”

-- Lisa Boeving-Learned, resident and retired police sergeant for 25 years, said, “ On August 15, an aboveground water pipeline blew out between the Yonker Well and Tank Pad and Cams Well and Tank Pad in Mount Pleasant Township owned by Range [Resources]. [Read more see photos here.]

“The blowout was caused by a pig [pipeline cleaning device] sent through the pipeline to clear debris, which I'm told is normal operation.

“Range was cited for failing to properly notify the DEP in a timely manner. What is unclear is how long the ruptured pipe leaked toxins.

“We know it was long enough for the pipe to whip around like a garden hose and rip at least 20 fence posts and 100 feet of wire along the edge of the pasture.

“How long it took the property owner to learn about the rupture, respond, and report that we don't know.

“We only know the DEP arrived a day later ‘after conferring with Range reps on the phone.’

“Readings were taken and they're supposed to submit a report, but I haven't seen that yet.

“But the incident isn't a one-off, as many others have said. Thousands of citations are written across the industry every single year.

“The week of August 23 alone, there were 85 conventional and 10 unconventional violation notices written.

“The industry insists they are good neighbors. They care about our community. But the record shows time and again, hundreds of violations, abandoned wells, leaking pipes, and storage containers.

“Meanwhile, they refuse to acknowledge the growing body of evidence, the chemicals the industry uses are toxic and causing untold health harms.

“ If I damage my neighbor's property or take careless action that causes them harm, I am honor-bound to fix that without being told.

“This industry is always being told they have to be made to do the right thing. We shouldn't have to bear the burden of that.

“And I think that that has been shown over and over again is we're the ones that are holding the bag.

“What we need is relief from you, our elected leaders, this board. You have the power to fix the historically insufficient regulation of this industry.”

-- John Bodner, resident, said, “Three minutes doesn't give me much, but the big thing about health of people.

“I wasn't even going to bring this up. The doctor mentioned we have a friend, very close friend that died last year. She was 55 years old, single mother.

“She worked in a chemical industry selling chemicals to the companies at the well pads, demonstrating the chemicals, showing the chemicals, being exposed to the chemicals.

“Cancer raged and ravaged her body, her brain, her lungs, her liver, her intestine. We saw a very, very vibrant mother friend die emaciated from cancer.

“There's no way in the world that you can tell me that that cancer wasn't caused by those well pads because nobody in her family had this type of cancer. All right? It's very dear to us.

“I want to make sure that maybe the workers, maybe we can protect the workers or they wake up.

“And I'd also like to say about our schools. I talked to you before, but I didn't mention our schools.

“Hills-Henderson Elementary, which is right by us off Mayview Road. We sit in a temperature inversion area, which means the weather in the winter, in the summer, sags with no wind.

“We're in the Chartier's Creek Valley, and when the air sits, it sits with everything in the air.

“The chemicals that are produced. There was a graphic on the screen showing infrared chemical air going up. It didn't show it's settling in the valleys.

“That chemical is breathed in by all of us. It's breathed in by our children. It's breathed in by our grandchildren. Young lungs are very susceptible and that never, ever disappears, never leaves their body."

“We can't solve all the problems. Maybe we can make it a little better.

“Maybe instead of having the water legacy, what coal did to our streams, destroy them all.

“We look back from 100 years ago and say, and we could have made a difference.

“Today we have these chemicals. We have no idea what we're dealing with. It's frightening.

“And I said it before, the future terrifies me because I don't know what the chemicals are going to do.

“Let's not be a group of people that say, forget it. Let's look at it. Let's say, Hey, we can make a difference. And maybe in 100 years down the road, 150, when we're all gone, people will say, look, the residents of Cecil Township at least tried to help us.

“Maybe not everybody listened, but they tried.”

-- Leah Lipner, resident, said, “Health and safety still remain a major concern. No one should become ill from the air they breathe, the water they drink.

“Not another child should die from disease caused by poison that the oil and gas companies pump into the earth. The cancer these children develop is caused by a chromosomal abnormality. That is, it's not inherited, but it is acquired.

“Stricter health and safety regulation should be in place to guard all residents. We cannot depend on the Environmental Protection Agency, whose job it is to protect our citizens.

“The book, Amity and Prosperity has taught us this lesson, and if you look at a lot of the Range employees, they're former DEP.

“No zoning laws should be changed that would result in turning residential areas into industrial areas."

“This is unacceptable, and I've heard the rumors. The residents living near [Range Resources] Augustine well [pad] need greater protection from the horrible conditions they are forced to live with.

“ I know, I went there, I visited, I saw, and it's just horrible.

“The wells close to the middle school, in my opinion, should be shut down to protect the health and welfare of students. However, we know that's not going to happen.

“The one well is approximately 1,532 feet away. We the citizens of Cecil Township must forever be a watchdog going forward.”

-- Emily Radovich, resident, said, “I'm going to begin with an excerpt from the Grand Jury report of 20.

"Fracking Wells are a geological crap shoot. Landowners who sell their mineral rights often have no idea what it really involves, and people who buy property after rights have already been sold, or who live next to someone else who sold, have no choice in the matter.” Read more here.

“Water ... And here's one of those things. Water and wastewater pipelines and natural gas gathering pipelines running between wellheads and other facilities are not regulated by any state agency for safety.

“There are no construction and operational standards, and no criteria selecting their routes.

“And add to this another fact. That Washington County not only has the most prolific and dense fracking infrastructure in the state. It is home to active long wall mining, which removes coal from underground. So we have two industries here, drilling underground, and those two industries collide from time to time.

“Cecil Township, up to June 30th, 2024, has had liquid fracking well waste produced that would be equivalent to approximately 6,907 18 wheeler tanker truckloads.

“This constant, and I'm not going to repeat, you've heard about the traffic and the noise and the air pollution. So we need to be 2,500 feet at least.

‘This is important. There is no proven method to safely dispose of fracking wastewater.”

-- Scott Burd, resident, said, “I'm far right, very conservative. I'm drill, baby drill, but I'm not kill, baby kill. This needs to be done safely and there's a lot of rolling hills around here that can be done.

“If Range Resources doesn't like that, invest in the R&D to get more miles horizontally.

“It's unacceptable. We saw on the presentation how the gas just encroaches [on] everybody's property.

“If you're doing that with something that was seen with the naked eye, there would be a huge issue, but this got away for so long.

“People are getting sick. It's unacceptable, and we're here in additional time and we just hope this is the last one, and I plead to my fellow conservatives on the board, I don't think this is an issue of property rights necessarily, as that issue is for public health.

“They [Range Resources] have five well pads they’re drilling, we're going to continue to drill. We just don't want any more dead kids.

“That's the worst fear of mine. If my three-year-old can come up here and say he doesn't want poison, he would, but he can't, so I'm doing it for him. We don't want our kids poisoned.”

-- Dino Sibitoni, resident, said, “Even the 2,500 feet is not a safe distance from a hydraulic fracturing site, but it is a minimum distance compromise that we can accept. We all know that the air and water pollution caused by fracking is not restricted to the well pad site.

“The question is, how willing are we to risk the health and safety of our neighbors to increase our own wealth?

“We can try to justify our actions by pointing to the jobs created, but no job is good that puts our neighbors in danger of contracting cancer.

“We can also claim that what is done on our land is within our rights, but our rights end where they infringe upon the rights of others.

“None of us think our neighbors would be justified in opening a chemical dump, explosives factory or radioactive waste disposal site next door to us, but some of us think that it is okay to operate a noisy, toxic fracking well pad on our own property without considering our neighbors' right to a peaceful, clean environment.

“Some would like to have the 10 Commandments prominently displayed in our schools along with the inclusion of student prayer. Why?

“Do we like props in paying lip service to God? What matters is what is in our hearts.

“Christ said that what we do to the least amongst us, we do to Him.

“Do we want to make His residence a place where it's not safe for Him to breathe the air or drink the well water?

“Do we want to subject His house to seismic activity from the hydraulic fracturing process and tell Him that any needed structural repairs are His responsibility?

“Do we want to steal from Him by lowering his property values? Do we want to return the peace that He gave to us with constant noise and bright lights?

“I don't want my afterlife spent on a well pad due to my lack of consideration for my neighbors.

“We live in a fallen world that can cloud our judgment. Please take a moment to consider your actions tonight with your neighbors' best interests in mind, and I am confident you'll do the right thing.”

-- Dr. Ned Ketyer, a retired pediatrician in the area said, “Practically all the health studies that have been done about fracking so far show that living and working near fracking increases the risk of developing health problems.

“Unsurprisingly, studies tell us conclusively that the closer you live and work to fracking operations, to the heavy diesel truck traffic, to the well pads, the pipelines, the compressor stations, the gas processing facilities, to all the landfills that take and process the radioactive and toxic fracking waste, the closer you are, the higher the risk of developing health problems.

“What the studies don't tell us though is what exactly is causing these health problems. However, the list of suspects is long.

“Could be the benzene that's released in fracking. It could be the black smoke exhaust from all the diesel trucks that are involved in fracking. It could be all the heavy metals that come from deep in the earth.

“It's plausible that it's radioactivity, especially radium and radon gas in the rock and the water that flows back up into the fracked gas well and out into the surface.

“And that is really one concern that we have about the apparent increase of rare childhood cancers in this region.”

“Maybe it's the stress. It's very stressful for people to live around all this loud and smelly activity.

“So we don't know for certain what single factor is to blame for all the health harms that we're witnessing when it comes to fracking.

“But there are things that we do know with a great deal of certainty about fracking because fracking is inherently dirty and dangerous, and that's something that industry rules and government regulations haven't been able to fix.

“ It's undeniable that fracking scars the landscape and degrades the environment.

“We also know that fracking pollutes the air and the water and the soil that all of us share. We know it endangers wildlife and aquatic creatures and farm animals, and even family pets.

“We know for certain, in fact, it's undeniable that fracking accelerates climate change and threatens the health of the future of our children and our grandchildren.”

“It's likely the board is never going to know how many lives have been saved by this decision to expand the setbacks.

“How many doctor's visits and trips to the emergency room and hospitalizations were avoided. How many pregnant moms made it to term with healthy babies.

“You're not going to know how many cancer treatments and premature funerals never happened because of this decision.

“But I'm pretty sure that most people living in Cecil Township and the doctors and nurses who care for them are grateful for you and for your decision to protect their health and safety by expanding the setback as you proposed. Thank you.”

-- Dr. Keith Wharton, a doctor certified by the Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, pointed to a recent study comparing areas in New York state which bans shale gas fracking and areas right next door in Pennsylvania where there is significant fracking.

He referred specifically to a peer-reviewed paper entitled, "Acute Myocardial Infarction Associated with Unconventional Natural Gas Development: A Natural Experiment."

“The findings of the study show: ‘We found that long-term exposure to fracking is associated with increase in heart attack hospitalization rates among middle-aged men, older men, older women, as well as increased heart death rates among middle-aged men.’

“For men age 45 to 54, there was a 2.5% increase risk of heart attacks, and 65 to 74 had a 1.4% increase. When I look at that, I think that, well, you perhaps can expect older people to have a higher risk of heart attacks. But the people in the 45 to 54 age group, I think they're babies.”

“In women, it raises it about 25%. And again, in those men aged 45 to 54, it's 25%.”

“I was very surprised to hear that, the high incidence in these young men. These men are in the prime of their life. They have families and children who they're launching into their careers or lives or college, and it's just awful.”

-- Michelle Stonemark, resident, said, “This new ordinance provides a voice for residents like me. It gives them a seat at the table, and doesn't leave them scrambling at the very last minute if something's proposed.

“This ordinance provides everyone, every leaseholder, every surface owner a say. This levels a very unbalanced playing field. This provides security for all residents, and I humbly ask for the vote of yes on this ordinance.”

-- Jonathan Kamin, an attorney with Goldberg, Kamin & Garvin in Pittsburgh specializing in zoning, land use and municipal work, said, “I did want to weigh in on the 2500 foot setback issue, and to tell you that I do not believe it's exclusionary.

“And I think the fact that you already have the amount of drilling that you have in the township, makes it not exclusionary.

“I would also add that there is no right under Pennsylvania law for the maximally productive use of your land. Now, what that means is, you don't have the right to build a skyscraper on your ground just because you want to do that.

“And what we're talking about here is surface rights, not a prohibition on subsurface operations.

“So the fact that you are going ahead and saying, ‘I need to have the 2500 foot setback,’, does not prohibit somebody from going ahead and utilizing their oil and gas rights or profiting from those rights.

“It just means that you can't have surface operations in those areas. I think under any test that you would have that would be challenging the court, it would be upheld, because you're not banning it.

“You're merely limiting it. And that is within your right as a township, and that is within your right constitutionally to exercise your police power.

“And just, I know many of you know this, but I did try the Act 13 case one in the [PA] Supreme Court, twice on it. [Read more here about the Washington County case.] I've had more than two dozen appellate cases that are land use cases, including I believe, the most recent Supreme Court case on zoning.

“And I can say, based on my knowledge and also based on my experience as a municipal solicitor, that I think the 2,500 foot setback that you're proposing is perfectly reasonable.

“It's perfectly legal, given everything else that you have in the township, and I would encourage the township supervisors to go ahead and to adopt it.”

Click Here for a video of the hearing and the short special meeting that followed.

(Photos: top- Range Resources Augustine Drill Pad in Cecil Township; Augustine Drill Pad showing scale of operation; bottom- Map of Shale gas wells (red dots), conventional oil and gas wells (blue/green dots) in Cecil Township (DEP Oil & Gas Program); 523 feet from nearest house; Well pad gas flare from bedroom window near Augustine well pad (WTAE). Other photos Courtesy of The Energy Age Blog.)

NewsClips - Cecil Township/Washington County:

-- The Energy Age Blog: Fracking In Cecil Township, Washington County [3.26.24]

-- The Energy Age Blog: Right To A Healthy Life For Babies Near Fracking - Testimony of Dr. Ned Ketyer At Sept. 4, 2024 Cecil Township Hearing

-- The Energy Age Blog: Fracking: Have A Heart For Seniors In Pennsylvania - Medical Evidence Of Fracking Harm from Sept. 4, 2024 Cecil Township Hearing

-- Center For Coalfield Justice Hosts Sept. 24 Program In Washington County On Increasing Setbacks From Oil & Gas Infrastructure [PaEN]

-- Landmark Washington County Act 13 PA Supreme Court Case Upholding Right Of Municipalities To Regulate Oil & Gas Drilling As A Land Use

Resource Links - Increasing Gas Infrastructure Safety Zones:

-- Senators Santarsiero, Comitta Introduce SB 581 Increasing Setback Safety Zones From Natural Gas Drilling Sites, Other Infrastructure, Based On Latest Science [PaEN]

-- House Committee Hearing On Increasing Safety Setback Zones Around Natural Gas Facilities Heard About First-Hand Citizen Experiences On Health Impacts; From Physicians On Health Studies; The Gas Industry On Job Impacts [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw, Republican Chair Of Senate Environmental Committee, Called Bill To Reduce Shale Gas Industry Impacts On Health, Environment ‘Stupid’ [PaEN]

Resource Links - Washington County Gas Development:

-- Click Here to search for Washington County articles in PA Environment Digest. These are just a few--