May 10, 2024 By Brad Hundt 4 min read

CECIL – For the second time in as many months, supervisors in Cecil Township heard from residents Wednesday who do not want oil and gas drilling near their homes and urged that additional restrictions be placed in the community’s oil and gas ordinance.

The pleas from residents come as supervisors consider revising the township’s oil and gas ordinance. It was first approved in 2011, just seven years after the first Marcellus Shale gas well appeared in Washington County. Supervisors are considering updating the ordinance to account for residential development within the township and the passage of time.

The board first considered updating the ordinance in early 2020, but the process was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the packed meeting, residents almost unanimously urged that the township not allow oil and gas drilling within 2,500 feet of homes, which is the current allowable distance statewide for oil and gas drilling near hospitals and schools. However, Tom Casciola, the board’s chair, said that putting that much distance – almost a half-mile – between residences and drilling would not withstand legal challenges and would essentially drive gas companies out of Cecil.

“The law says we can’t zone them out of existence,” Casciola said.

Board member Cindy Fisher added, “We’ve spent a significant amount of time looking at ordinances that have stood up in court. So, what we’re trying to accomplish now is create an ordinance that is the most protective of our residents, with the most restrictions that will stand up in court. We don’t want to go into court with a super restrictive ordinance and a super restrictive map and have it thrown out and start back at square one.”

The board is now considering adopting an ordinance similar to one that has been put in place in the Westmoreland County community of Murrysville. It restricts drilling to portions of the community, puts a 750-foot setback in place and has withstood a challenge in Commonwealth Court. Fisher said Cecil’s setback would likely be farther due to the feedback the township has received from residents.

Nevertheless, some of those residents insisted the board should adopt an ordinance like those in Peters and South Fayette townships, which are more restrictive.

Some also asked that members of the board who hold oil and gas leases abstain from voting on changes to the ordinance.

Sarah Martik, a Cecil resident and executive director of the Center for Coalfield Justice, an environmental advocacy group, said in a news release, “Cecil supervisors might want to hold these meetings quietly, but residents are at their breaking point with the danger and nuisance of these wells. People should have a say in whether someone builds a well pad 200 steps from their bedroom.”

Several residents also cited reports that claim higher incidences of cancer, lower birth weights and asthma for residents near fracking sites.

However, Cecil resident Laural Ziemba, who is also director of public affairs at gas company Range Resources, outlined the number of monetary donations the company had made to community groups in the area, and that adopting a too-restrictive ordinance would send “the wrong message.”

Legislation was introduced in both the state House and Senate last year that would change the setback distance for well pads from 500 feet to 2,500 feet for homes, and from 2,500 feet to 5,000 feet for schools and hospitals. Supporters of the natural gas industry say such a move would effectively ban drilling in Pennsylvania.

An additional public hearing on the ordinance is planned for Wednesday, June 5. If the board settles on a revised ordinance, it will be sent to the township’s planning commission as well as the county’s planning office, and then back to the full board for a vote at its regular meeting in July.