ORGANIZATIONS DECRY LACK OF CONCERN FOR COMMUNITIES, HEALTH, AND PROPERTY

This past Tuesday in the Senate and Wednesday in the House, the Pennsylvania legislature voted in favor of HB1950, a compromise gas development bill that was hammered out behind closed doors under the heavy hand of Governor Tom Corbett. Under the guise of providing “impact fees” to municipalities where gas operations occur, the legislature effectively supported a takeover of municipalities by the State and the gas industry by gutting established and effective local planning and zoning rights.

Through provisions contained in the bill, municipalities will no longer be able to play a central, critical role in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of residents and determining which uses of land are most beneficial.

The bill requires that all types of oil and gas operations (except for natural gas processing plants)—unlike any other commercial or industrial business—be allowed in all zoning districts, even in residential neighborhoods and near schools, parks, hospitals, and sensitive natural and cultural resource protection areas. As a result, people could be forced to live only 300 feet away from a gas well, open frack waste pit, or pipeline, despite growing evidence that such development causes pollution, damages health, and lowers property values.

The bill also mandates a one-size-fits-all ordinance that supersedes all existing ordinances and prevents municipalities from adopting any zoning provisions that are stricter than the weak, mandated standards.

“The PA Legislature has let the gas industry take over, despite the terrible consequences that drilling is having in communities across the Commonwealth. This so-called impact fee bill brings no net fiscal gain to Pennsylvania residents; it robs us of the ability to protect what is most locally valuable—our health, safety, and resources—and gives gas operators the right to run all over our communities. This is unjust and exposes the true allegiances of the Bill’s supporters—self-interested gas developers and their backers,” said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper.

“Today, many legislators and Governor Corbett told Pennsylvania residents that protecting their health and rights matters far less to them than the gas industry’s demands,” said Nadia Steinzor, Marcellus Regional Organizer for Earthworks’ Oil and Gas Accountability Project. “They and other supporters of this bill turned a blind eye on the widespread damage caused by drilling and a deaf ear to calls from citizens for change, while doing the bidding of companies that want to drill anywhere, anytime.”

“If legislators were looking to pass a proposal that will allow more gas drilling near people’s homes, and the parks, playgrounds and schools where our children play and spend their days, then ‘Mission Accomplished,’” said Erika Staaf of PennEnvironment. “Sadly, this is just one more case of powerful interests dominating the political process, and the lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle to do anything about it.”

“A poorly-regulated gas industry will be able to drill in residential neighborhoods, bringing thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals, thousands of tractor trailers, round the clock noisy, polluting drilling, all as little as a football field away from homes, day care centers, and playgrounds,” said Jeff Schmidt, Director of Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania Chapter. “The legislators who voted in favor of HB 1950 have abandoned any pretense that they are acting in the public interest. We will make sure the public knows who sided with the drillers and who sided with citizens when they go to the polls for this year’s elections.”

“This bill represents a huge step backwards in protection for Pennsylvania towns and the environment,” said Myron Arnowitt, PA State Director for Clean Water Action. “The state override of local zoning ordinances will greatly increase the threats to communities from all aspects of gas extraction. Never before has one industry been given full rights to do as they please, without recognizing the needs of other businesses, residents, and our environment. 2012 is an election year, and we will be devoting our energy to ensuring that the voters of Pennsylvania are aware of which legislators voted to give away our control over an industry that has contaminated our air, land, and water.”

“The legislators who voted for HB 1950 made a short-sighted decision that puts the health and safety of Pennsylvania’s communities at risk,” said Josh McNeil, Executive Director of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania. “They voted against the interests of their constituents and should expect those constituents to return the favor in the November election.”

Click here for PA House Roll Call Votes

Click here for PA Senate Roll Call Votes

Hundreds tell the legislature to protect local rights and public health from gas operations

(Harrisburg) – On Tuesday, January 17, as legislators returned to Harrisburg for the first session day of 2012, hundreds of Pennsylvania residents and local officials called on state leaders to oppose the omnibus gas drilling bills, HB 1950 and SB 1100, which cleared the State House and Senate in late 2011.

As the bills head to conference committee deliberations, Tuesday’s event drew attention to major provisions in both bills that tie the hands of local elected officials on zoning decisions related to shale gas operations such as wells, pipelines, compressor stations, and chemical and waste storage.

“This was a terrible idea in 2011 and remains a terrible idea in 2012,” said Steve Hvozdovich of Clean Water Action. “Our legislators must take this opportunity and make a New Year’s resolution to protect our health, water, air, and communities by opposing any legislation that attempts to weaken or allow state takeover of municipal rights.”

The groups assert that the bills’ state preemption of local decision-making and zoning is a fatal flaw that will negatively affect Pennsylvania residents’ health, environment and quality of life, and the bills’ impact fees and limited environmental provisions are too limited to make up for the local zoning tradeoff.

“This bill is the antithesis of local control and represents a serious threat to democratic decision making by Pennsylvania communities,” said Maria Payan, Director of Peach Bottom Concerned Citizens Group. “Will we be allowed to use local zoning laws to protect the public health, safety and public welfare, or will our state enact a law to accommodate the oil and gas industry and their high-paid lobbyists?”

Pennsylvania municipalities currently have the legal right to decide where and how gas development occurs. Both the Municipalities Planning Code and the State Constitution vest municipalities with the authority and responsibility to address local environmental and public resources. State Supreme Court rulings have also made it clear that the state Oil and Gas Act allows municipalities the right to use zoning codes to restrict the location of gas wells.

“The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania is appalled that elected officials are considering HB1950 and SB 1100,” said Roberta Winters, Vice President Issues and Action of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. “These bills eliminate the treasured value of ‘local control’ by pre-empting the right of municipalities to protect the health, well-being, and property of local citizens while collecting too little revenue to repair the impact of industrial level fracking on their communities. This does not reflect good government and blatantly disregards the hearts and minds of the citizens of Pennsylvania.”

The group pointed out that both bills would allow gas operations – including well pads and drill rigs – as close as 500 feet and wastewater and chemical impoundments as close as 300 feet to homes, schools, and health facilities, potentially diminishing the well-being and property values of nearby residents. Under this legislation, in many cases other types of businesses – from hair salons to light construction – could face greater restrictions on locating in a residential area that gas operations.

“The Pennsylvania General Assembly must kill HB 1950 and SB 1100. Neither versions of the Marcellus legislation provide sufficient environmental protection or funding, while both would usurp existing local government authority to protect their communities,” said Jeff Schmidt, Director of Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter. “We call on every member of the House and Senate who voted in support of these bills to change his or her position. The electorate will know if their legislators voted to protect public health and the environment, or if they voted to do what out-of-state drillers want.”

32 Campaign for Clean Water member organizations signed on to a letter defending the Clean Water Act opposing the Barrasso/Heller Amendments to H.R. 2354.

On November 16, 2011 the below letter was sent to both Senator Casey and Senator Toomey.

On behalf of our thousands of members across Pennsylvania, the undersigned organizations urge you to oppose the Barrasso/Heller amendment to H.R. 2354, which would permanently bar the Army Corps of Engineers from restoring longstanding Clean Water Act protections to water bodies throughout the Commonwealth and the rest of the country.  This amendment undermines the protections that Pennsylvanians expect to ensure clean water for drinking, swimming and fishing. The amendment would endanger our water resources and put the interests of polluters over those of the public.

We urge you to oppose this amendment and preserve the Corps’ ability to take administrative action, within the limits that have been established by the courts, to clarify the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction.

Since the Supreme Court decisions in SWANCC and Rapanos and ensuing EPA Guidance documents issued in 2003 and 2008, water bodies which Congress intended to protect when it passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 have been put at risk. Congress enacted the Clean Water Act “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.”

This amendment threatens water resources, including over 20 million acres of wetlands and 59% of our nation’s stream miles. The headwater streams that are put at risk by the Barrasso/Heller amendment are incredibly important to the health of Pennsylvania’s watersheds and deserve full protection under the Clean Water Act.  8 million Pennsylvanians get their drinking water from public water systems that are put in danger by this amendment.  58% of the stream miles that provide water to public water systems in our state are intermittent, ephemeral or headwater streams.

Please do not support this amendment and encourage your colleagues to follow your lead. The Clean Water Act was written to protect all the waters of the United States, whether they go through dry spells, low flows or only spring to life from time to time.

Sincerely,

Myron Arnowitt
Chair
Campaign for Clean Water
Pittsburgh

Bob Adams
Director of Stewardship
Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association
Ambler

Barbara Arrindell
Director
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability
Milanville

Thomas Au
Conservation Chair
Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter
Harrisburg

Deana Weaver & Brad Pealer
Co-Founders
Carroll Citizens for Sensible Growth
Dillsburg

Mike T. Burk
President
Conemaugh Valley Conservancy
Hollsopple

Tracy Carluccio
Deputy Director
Delaware Riverkeeper Network
Bristol

Sarah Caspar
Frac Action Coalition
Downingtown

Susan Curry
Treasurer
Alliance for a Sustainable Future
Ambler

William Derhammer
President
Lehigh River Cold Water Alliance
Emmaus

Ms. Aimee Douglas CPA
Treasurer
Springtown Water Authority
Springtown

W. Scott Douglas
President
Cooks Creek Watershed Association
Springtown

Scott Fiegel
Ecological Associates
Oley

Gil Freedman
President
Conodoguinet Creek Watershed Association
Mechanicsburg

Michael Helfrich
Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper
Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna
York

Ellie Hyde
Chair
South Branch Tunkhannock Watershed Coalition
LaPlume

Carol Kafer
President
Loyalsock Creek Watershed Association
Montoursville

Jan Keim
Co-Chair
Little Lehigh Watershed Coalition
Emmaus

Stan Kotala
Conservation Chair
Juniata Valley Audubon
Hollidaysburg

Marion M. Kyde, PhD
President
Delaware River Greenway Partnership
Erwinna

Barry Lewis
Executive Director
GreenTreks Network
Philadelphia

Chuck Marshall
Director
Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation
Paoli

Richard Martin
Coordinator
Pennsyvlania Forest Coalition
Boiling Springs

Anne Murphy
Executive Director
Chester Ridley Crum Watersheds Association
Media

Maria Payan
Chair
Peach Bottom Concerned Citizens Group
Delta

Gerald R. Potocnak
President
Arrowhead Chapter, Trout Unlimited
Sarver

Ted Robinson
Staff Attorney
Citizen Power
Pittsburgh

Brady Russell
Eastern Pennsylvania Director
Clean Water Action
Philadelphia

Donna Smith-Remick
President
Friends of Poquessing Watershed
Philadelphia

Jim Vogt
President
Aquashicola Pohopoco Watershed Conservancy
Kresgeville

Derrick Winegardner
Chair
Friends of the Little Aughwick Creek
Fort Littleton

Peter Wray
Conservation Chair
Sierra Club, Allegheny Group
Pittsburgh

Yesterday, local officials from twelve counties across the state submitted a letter the the Pennsylvania legislature urging them to protect their local zoning rights. HB1950 and SB1100 include legislative proposals restricting local authority concerning Marcellus Shale gas drilling. Both bills are expected to be voted on this week.

See the press coverage below:

“Municipal Officials Oppose Loss of Local Drilling Rules”
By Laura Legere
TheTimes-Tribune.com

In a conference call Monday, signatories to the General Assembly letter and environmental groups said the pre-emption clauses in the bills amount to a “power grab” by the state.

“The proposed legislation is, in effect, stating that the development of natural gas is so paramount that industry should have the option to pursue it anywhere at any time,” Earthworks Marcellus region representative Nadia Steinzor said, “even if it’s at the expense of the other uses of the land and priorities such as quality of life and public health and what communities want.”

“Local Officials Oppose Marcellus Shale Legislation”
By Don Hopey
Pittsburgh-Post Gazette

The bills would eliminate or severely restrict the ability of local governments to enact zoning ordinances applicable to Marcellus Shale gas drilling operations and establish a standard “model” ordinance that all townships would have to follow.

The Marcellus Shale drilling industry has supported the state legislation that would supersede local zoning ordinances, and it has challenged some existing local ordinances in court.

Letter calls for rejection of any reduction in rights to pass local ordinances on gas drilling

Download the letter here

(Harrisburg) – Municipal officials from a dozen different counties across Pennsylvania jointly wrote to the PA General Assembly today calling for a rejection of legislative proposals to reduce or eliminate municipal governments’ rights to enact local zoning ordinances concerning Marcellus Shale gas drilling.

Altogether, 46 local officials signed the letter.  These officials were from the following counties:  Allegheny, Berks, Bucks, Butler, Delaware, Elk, Luzerne, Montgomery, Northampton, Washington, Westmoreland, and York.  In addition, Cecil Township in Washington County, and Upper Burrell Township in Westmoreland passed resolutions opposing these attacks on their ability to enact local zoning ordinances.

Deron Gabriel, a South Fayette Township Commissioner who signed the letter, stated, “South Fayette like many communities has taken steps to protect itself from the dangers of drilling. Measures by Range Resources & Harrisburg to strip us of these rights is a power grab and infringement upon our ability to determine what is best for the families of South Fayette.”  Range Resources is currently taking legal action against both South Fayette and Cecil for enactment of their local zoning ordinances.

Myron Arnowitt, PA State Director for Clean Water Action stated, “There has been a real outpouring of local support over this issue.  We want to be clear about this – there is no patchwork of local regulation in the state.  Our state government has already set standards and rules for gas drilling.  What municipal governments are doing is what they have always done – using zoning to ensure that particular activities are appropriate for their communities.  These officials are clear that they want our state legislators to reject any reduction in their rights to enact zoning ordinances.”

Dozens of municipal governments in Pennsylvania have enacted new local ordinances regarding Marcellus Shale gas drilling or are in the process of doing so.  Local governments have used their zoning to keep drilling out of residential neighborhoods, to ensure proper buffer zones around schools, and to allow local officials a chance to review development plans prior to approval.

“The courts have upheld the right of municipalities to adopt ordinances to protect their communities from the natural gas industry’s activities.  We oppose the out of state gas drillers who want to impose a “one size fits all” state-level regulation that would overturn the existing municipal authority. We believe that local governments know the local conditions better than some desk-bound bureaucrat in Harrisburg,” said Jeff Schmidt, Director of Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania Chapter.  ”The gas industry’s state preemption approach would be like telling local governments that they can’t establish speed limits on winding township roads, because the statewide speed limit is 55 mph,” Schmidt continued.

“People and the environment are paying the price for irresponsible drilling and lax regulation, and the gas industry is using political pressure, financial influence, and intimidation to keep it that way,” said Nadia Steinzor of Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project. “Municipalities have an established right under Pennsylvania law to practice zoning and do what it takes to protect their communities.”

The State House is expected to take up HB 1950 today that would make local ordinances concerning gas drilling illegal.  The State Senate is expected to soon take up SB 1100 which is likely to greatly restrict municipal zoning ordinances concerning gas drilling.  Precise language on this issue is still being negotiated between the Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats.

#          #          #

Download a copy of the letter

November 14, 2011

Dear members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly:

As elected officials representing constituents across the Commonwealth, we are writing with concerns regarding Marcellus Shale natural gas development. Municipalities all across Pennsylvania are working to enact or have enacted measures designed to protect the environment and health, safety, and welfare of their communities and residents.

Recently, proposals have been made through lawsuits and legislative proposals to eliminate, weaken, or standardize a municipality’s ability to protect its residents. We oppose such measures for several key reasons.

As you are surely aware, Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code vests municipalities with the authority and responsibility to address matters influencing local environmental protection and preservation, while the State Constitution obliges municipalities to be stewards of public resources. Such considerations are paramount at a time when industrial-scale gas development is expanding across Pennsylvania, and with it impacts on water and air quality, land, and communities. In addition, Pennsylvania Supreme Court rulings have made it clear that the state Oil and Gas Act gives municipalities the right to use our zoning code to restrict the location of gas wells—similar to how we sometimes restrict other types of economic activity through zoning.

Further, the imposition of a “one size fits all” ordinance would undermine a central purpose of local ordinances: to address the particular needs and concerns of municipalities, which vary greatly with regard to natural resources, population location and density, commercial sectors, and other aspects.

We also believe that local decision making is part of a democratic society. We have been elected and appointed to fully represent the interests of our constituents. This includes the right of municipalities to determine what is best for their communities and residents.

Local governments must be able to ensure protections through ordinances that reflect specific concerns. Therefore we oppose any legislation and reject all attempts to take away municipal zoning rights, to weaken or standardize a municipality’s ability to protect itself, or to punish communities that choose to exercise their rights. We request that you stand with us in this cause and work to preserve the powers vested in municipalities to determine what is necessary to protect the best interests of their community and residents.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Sincerely,

Deron Gabriel

Commissioner, South Fayette Township (Allegheny Co.)

Natalia Rudiak

Councilwoman, City of Pittsburgh, District 4 (Allegheny Co.)

David Buchewicz

Supervisor, South Park Township (Allegheny Co.)

Douglas Shields

Councilman, City of Pittsburgh, District 5 (Allegheny Co.)

John Maggio

Councilman, Dormont Borough (Allegheny Co.)

Bill Peduto

Councilman, City of Pittsburgh, District 8 (Allegheny Co.)

Robert I. Roberts

Councilman, City of St. Marys (Elk Co.)

Michael Badges-Canning

Councilman, Cherry Valley Borough (Butler Co.)

Rick Stuchal

Supervisor, Mercer Township (Butler Co.)

Jeff Know

Supervisor, Mercer Township (Butler Co.)

Walter Walowen

Supervisor, Mercer Township (Butler Co.)

Patricia Caruso

Commissioner, Scott Township (Allegheny Co.)

Jason Bell

Planning Commissioner, Evans City (Butler Co.)

Walter C. Sackinsky

Supervisor, South Park Township (Allegheny Co.)

Brian Coppola

Supervisor, Robinson Township (Washington Co.)

Karen Feridun

Planning Commissioner, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Nancy Janyszeski
Supervisor, Nockamixon Township (Bucks Co.)

Lisa-Ladd Kidder

Planning Commissioner, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Julie Edgar

Planning Commissioner, Topton Borough (Berks Co.)

Melissa Lewicki
Councilwoman, Swarthmore Borough (Delaware Co.)

Ross G. Walker, III

Supervisor, Upper Burrell Township (Westmoreland Co.)
Peter F. Dombroski

Supervisor, Upper Burrell Township (Westmoreland Co.)
Thomas C. Baker

Supervisor, Upper Burrell Township (Westmoreland Co.)

Donald Hoffman

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

John Coolbaugh

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

Benjamin Gadomski

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

James Dowse

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

Richard Overman

Supervisor, Exeter Township (Luzerne Co.)

Elisabeth Knapp

Councilwoman, Swarthmore Borough (Delaware Co.)

Patrick Dowd

Councilman, City of Pittsburgh, District 7 (Allegheny Co.)

Derek Mace

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Malcolm Eidle

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

James Schlegel

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Edwin Seyler

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Kevin Snyder

Councilman, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Leon Weber

Planning Commissioner, Kutztown Borough (Berks Co.)

Richard Brown

Supervisor, Lower Providence Township (Montgomery Co.)

Lisa Malosh

Supervisor-Elect, South Fayette Township (Allegheny Co.)

Todd Miller

Supervisor-Elect, South Fayette Township (Allegheny Co.)

Joe Horowitz

Supervisor-Elect, South Fayette Township (Allegheny Co.)

Bruce Kraus

Councilman, City of Pittsburgh, District 3 (Allegheny Co.)

Harold Berkoben

Councilman, Whitehall Borough (Allegheny Co.)

Diane Hollenbach

Township Manager, Maidencreek Township(Berks Co.)

Nancy Kauffman

Councilwoman, Birdsboro Borough (Berks Co.)

Sal Panto, Jr.

Mayor, City of Easton (Northampton Co.)

Sue Fox

Supervisor, Shrewsbury Township (York Co.)

OFFICIAL

CECIL TOWNSHIP

RESOLUTION NO. _____-2011

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CECIL TOWNSHIP,

WASHINGTON COUNTY, STATING OPPOSITION TO PENNSYLVANIA PROPOSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1950

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act regulates the development of oil and gas in the state of Pennsylvania;

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code (“MPC”) allows municipalities to enact, amend, and repeal zoning ordinances to provide for the orderly development of the economic needs of the municipality and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its residents;

WHEREAS, the current Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act does not preempt a municipality’s rights to provide for the zoning of oil and gas activities;

WHEREAS, Cecil Township, with Industry input, has crafted oil and gas related ordinances that serve to strike a balance between the health, safety and welfare of our Township residents with the ability to undertake gas operations within our Township borders;

WHEREAS, proposed Pennsylvania House Bill No. 1950 is an attempt by the Pennsylvania State Legislature to expressly supersede and preempt all local rules, regulations, codes, agreements, resolutions, ordinances and other local enactments that regulate oil and gas operations;

WHEREAS, proposed Pennsylvania House Bill No. 1950, which passed the Finance House Committee on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, serves to deprive municipalities of long-standing zoning powers in favor of statewide control of the location of oil and gas related activities in the Township;

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in recognition of the fact that local municipal officials are in the best position to determine “where” drilling activities should occur in the Township held, “[W]hile effective oil and gas regulation in service of the [Oil and Gas] Act’s goals may require the knowledge and expertise of the appropriate state agency, the MPC’s authorization of local zoning laws is provided in recognition of the unique expertise of municipal governing bodies to designate where different uses should be permitted in a manner that accounts for the community’s development objectives, its character, and the ‘suitabilities and special nature of particular parts of the community’”;

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has not performed any studies about the potential chronic and long-term health effects associated with living near drilling sites, frac ponds, compressor stations or processing plants;

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has not performed any studies about the potential for industry activity to impact the value of homes, issues with securing mortgages, or potential future development of the Township, all of which may affect the health, safety and welfare of the public including the Township’s growth and tax base;

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania State Legislature stated its intended purpose is to create uniformity for the drilling industry;

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania State Legislature fails to account for differences in each municipality including topography, population, and reliance on well water as a primary water source;

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania State Legislature fails to take into consideration that “uniformity of rules” is not the equivalent of “uniformity of location,” “where” drilling activities take place, as each municipality has different industrial, commercial, and residential population centers, development and comprehensive plans that can and will be thwarted by the state denying municipalities long-standing zoning powers that allows the Township to foster the Community’s development objectives.

WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania State Legislature failed to look to the municipalities where drilling is occurring for input and has ignored the lessons learned from other states with prior shale drilling activities, such as Texas which allows for and has certain local municipal oversight of oil and gas drilling activities in their communities that have not been detrimental to the oil and gas industry’s ongoing operations.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cecil Township Board of Supervisors does hereby officially express its complete and unfettered opposition to Pennsylvania H.B. 1950 that serves to circumvent current Pennsylvania law and long-standing zoning powers set forth by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.

IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED, that Cecil Township joins in a letter of opposition to Pennsylvania House Bill 1950 as part of the Marcellus Municipal Cooperative made up of eighteen (18) local municipalities.

SECTION 1. Effective Date. This policy shall become effective immediately.

DULY RESOLVED THIS 8th_DAY OF _November_, 2011, by the Board of Supervisors of Cecil Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania in lawful session duly assembled.

ATTEST: TOWNSHIP OF CECIL

_________________________ By: ____________________________

Donald A. Gennuso, Michael T. Debbis

Township Manager Chairman, Board of Supervisors

TOWNSHIP OF UPPER BURRELL

WESTMORELAND COUNTY

PENNSYLVANIA

RESOLUTION NO. 5 OF 2011

Opposition to State Intervention with Local Zoning Regulations

A RESOLUTION of the Township of Upper Burrell, County of Westmoreland, the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in opposition to State Intervention with Local Zoning Regulation.

Whereas, Upper Burrell Township recognizes that the regulation of oil and gas wells is the primary responsibility of the regulatory agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and

Whereas, Upper Burrell Township maintains its Zoning Power as set forth in 53P.S 10101 et.

Seq., as amended, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and through the Upper Burrell

Township Zoning Ordinance; and

Whereas, the Township of Upper Burrell enacted a Zoning Ordinance on August 3, 2011, as amended; and

Whereas, similar efforts to strengthen local protections have been enacted or are being initiated across Pennsylvania; and

Whereas, HB 1950 (Session of 2011) and SB 1100 (Session of 2011 would, if adopted, would take away powers specifically given to municipalities to regulate zoning on a local level and force municipalities to adopt a standardized zoning authority as determined by the Commonwealth ; and

Resolved, that the Township of Upper Burrell, County of Westmoreland, opposes any measure, initiative, or plan that mandates the elimination of determining the right to use our zoning code as defined by the local municipalities and be forced to adopt a statewide regulation; and be it further

Resolved, that the General Assembly be urged to oppose HB 1950 and any similar kind of legislation that has been, or may be introduced in the future to weaken or standardize a municipality’s ability to regulate local zoning and instead should preserve the existing powers given to municipalities through the Municipalities Planning Code.

RESOLVED and Adopted this __7th____ day of _ November___, 2011, at a duly assembled public meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Upper Burrell Township.

ATTEST

Amy Rockwell, Manager/Secretary Ross G. Walker, III

UPPER BURRELL TOWNSHIP

Thomas C. Baker

Peter F. Dombroski, Jr

Joint letter signed by local officials across the state concerning Marcellus gas drilling

WHAT: Press conference held by conference call to announce the release of a letter jointly signed by dozens of municipal and county officials urging the state legislature to preserve existing rights to enact local zoning ordinances concerning Marcellus Shale gas drilling operations.

WHEN: Monday, November 14, 10:00 am

WHERE: Press conference will be held by conference call.

Call in number:  800-509-6344

Code:  5541100#

WHO: Speakers will include municipal officials who have signed the letter as well as environmental organizations concerned with preserving local Marcellus Shale ordinances.

BACKGROUND: Votes are scheduled the week of November 14 in both the State House and State Senate on bills (HB 1950 and SB 1100) that would either eliminate or restrict the ability of local governments to enact zoning ordinances concerning Marcellus Shale gas drilling operations.

Download the Media Advisory

Oct. 31, 2011

Letter to Senators Highlights Attack on Local Control and Poor Drinking Water Setbacks

(Harrisburg) – Five environmental organizations representing well over 100,000 Pennsylvanians wrote to State Senators Friday highlighting several problems with Senator Scarnati’s proposed Marcellus Shale legislation, SB 1100.  Two main areas of concern were cited on the bill which is still in negotiation between Senate Republicans and Democrats prior to a predicted floor vote this week.  Clean Water Action, Sierra Club, PennEnvironment, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and Earthworks all signed the letter which was sent to all State Senators.

The first area of concerns are provisions that are being prepared that would reduce municipal authority to zone and otherwise restrict gas drilling activities in their townships.  While the PA Supreme Court has ruled that the PA Oil and Gas Act gives municipalities the right to zone gas drilling as it would any industry, it has long been a goal of the oil and gas industry to strip municipal rights to zone gas wells.  In addition to SB 1100, State House leadership is considering similar legislation to eliminate local zoning control over the oil and gas industry.

Dozens of municipalities across Pennsylvania have enacted, or are in the process of enacting, local ordinances for a wide variety of reasons.  Some keep drilling out of residential zones in their townships, others establish special setbacks from schools, some simply ensure that local officials have some say in how gas development occurs in their area.

“It is essential that municipalities are able to use local zoning to protect residents; for legislators to steal away this right for gas drilling, destroys local officials’ ability to meet their responsibilities and flies in the face of community planning. This effort to impose a super-ordinance that guts municipal powers must be stopped to protect residents where they live,” said Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

“It is critical to secure much-needed protections for people and the environment through legislation, and high time that Pennsylvania’s Oil and Gas Act is revised to do to,” said Nadia Steinzor of Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project. “But it would be wrong to achieve this gain at the expense of the ability of local communities to do what it takes to protect themselves.”

The second area of concerns is the insufficient setback provisions in SB 1100 for public and private drinking water supplies.  While all sides in the debate acknowledge that the current 200 foot setback does not provide protection, SB 1100 only increases the private well setback to 500 feet and public water supplies to 1,000 feet.  The environmental groups are asking for a minimum 3,000 foot setback for all water supplies, with greater distances providing some buffer for safety.

Two recent studies, one by the state legislature sponsored Center for Rural Pennsylvania and a peer reviewed study by Duke University, both found that water contamination can occur as far as 3,000 feet from a Marcellus Shale gas well.  These studies provide a clear scientific basis for establishing a setback provision for drinking water supplies.

Myron Arnowitt, PA State Director for Clean Water Action, stated, “We often hear from the Corbett Administration and the Marcellus Shale Coalition that we should have policies that are fact based, and not fear based.  It’s time for them to live up to their words and enact the protections that are supported by the facts on the ground.”

The full text of the letter to the State Senate can be found at:  http://www.cleanwateraction.org/pa or download pdf version.

The Pennsylvania Campaign for Clean Water submitted a letter signed by 34 organizations to DEP Secretary, Michael Krancer, defending the new provisions of 150 foot buffers for new development along all Exceptional Value and High Quality streams in the state.

On June 17, 2010, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission passed a new rule that requires developments that include parts of High Quality or Exceptional value streams in their footprints to preserve 150 feet of forested buffer on either side of the water way. This rule applies to 25 PA Code Chapter 102. This new rule was amended in August of 2010, and put into effect on November 19, 2010. This rule was put into place to protect these important resources and the communities that depend on them with little or no cost to taxpayers and businesses.

The PA Campaign for Clean Water sees this rule as essential to the health of our waterways throughout the state and commends the decision-makers who adopted this new regulation. As groups such as the PA Homebuilder’s Association stated their intention to weaken the rule, the Campaign moved to apprise the new administration of the environmental communities unanimity on the topic of riparian buffers.

Buffers of trees and plants along our state’s best streams benefit our state by: keeping drinking water safe, moderating the risk of flood damage, increasing property values, improving water quality, reducing costs to our communities, and supporting jobs.

In many ways, the Campaign for Clean Water originally organized to win a rule like this; after years of work, we have no intention to permit it to be watered down.

View the letter below or download it here.

Dear Secretary Krancer,

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in strong support of the riparian buffer provisions for Exceptional Value (EV) and High Quality (HQ) streams as adopted last year in 25 Pa Code Chapter 102 regulations. We are increasingly aware of advocacy efforts by a small group of individuals and organizations to weaken or eliminate this effective, and necessary, buffer language. The improvements to Chapter 102 were adopted with resounding support from citizens, practitioners, regulators, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Internal Regulatory Review Commission.

Buffers of trees and plants alongside our state’s best streams are smart, science-based, low-cost solutions to protect these important natural resources and the communities and businesses that depend on them. Because buffers take advantage of Pennsylvania’s existing natural resources, they deliver big benefits at little or no cost to taxpayers and businesses.

Buffers benefit our state by:

• Keeping drinking water safe: By filtering pollutants out of runoff before it reaches our rivers and streams, buffers help reduce the cost of treating our drinking water. According to the EPA, every dollar invested in protecting the sources of our drinking water with practices like buffers saves $27 in drinking water treatment costs.
• Moderating the risk of flood damage: Buffers reduce costly damage when flooding does occur by placing new development away from the stream’s edge. In addition, with fewer structures near the water’s edge, runoff can be reduced and the volume of flood waters minimized.
• Increasing property values: Studies have shown that stream buffers increase property values and the prices that buyers are willing to pay for properties. This in turn increases the local tax base and tax revenues for Pennsylvania’s municipalities.
• Water quality improvement: Buffers protect our streams from excess nitrogen and phosphorus by filtering nutrients out of runoff. They help increase the breakdown of herbicides and the processing of nutrients once in streams. They shade streams, helping cool them and providing food for fish and other aquatic organisms. They reduce erosion and scouring, helping preserve stream banks and stream bottoms from damage and property owners from losing land.
• Reducing costs to our communities: Buffers can help reduce municipal stormwater costs by using existing natural resources more effectively. This helps save tax dollars.
• Supporting jobs: Our highest quality water resources – EV and HQ streams – are among the top destinations of tourism and recreation, a major driver in Pennsylvania’s economy. Fishing activities alone generate $4.7 billion per year in revenue for the state—supplying 43,000 jobs.

We commend the decision-makers in the Commonwealth who adopted this buffer regulation to protect the state’s highest quality waters and minimize costly degradation to water quality downstream. We ask the agency ensure those regulations are neither weakened nor eliminated—they are essential to the health of the waterways Pennsylvanians drink, recreate in and depend on for livelihoods. We look forward to your leadership as we work together to protect Pennsylvania’s water resources.

Sincerely,

Peter Wray, Chair, Conservation Committee
Allegheny Group, Sierra Club

Dennis M. McNair, PhD, President
Allegheny Plateau Audubon Society

Liz Garland Deardorff, Associate Director
American Rivers Clean Water Program- Pennsylvania

Mark Zakutansky, PA Highlands Coordinator
Appalachian Mountain Club

Wesley R. Horner, AICP, Senior Advisor for Water Resources
Brandywine Conservancy

Myron Arnowitt, Chair
Campaign for Clean Water

Deana Weaver and Brad Pealer, Co-founders
Carroll Citizens for Sensible Growth

Raina Rippel, Director
Center for Coalfield Justice

Harry L. Campbell III, Senior Scientist
Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Brian G. Glass, Senior Attorney
Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture)

Brady Russell, Eastern Pennsylvania Director
Clean Water Action

Patrick Walker
Cleaner Fuels, Cleaner Hands

Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper
Delaware Riverkeeper Network

Patty Bloomer, President
EL Rose Conservancy of Susquehanna County, Inc

Melanie Ryan, RLA, LEED AP
Elk Creeks Watershed Association

Donna Smith-Remick, President
Friends of Poquessing Watershed, Inc

Barry Lewis, Executive Director
GreenTreks Network

Bernie McGurl, Executive Director
Lackawanna River Corridor Association

Jan Kiem
Little Lehigh Watershed Coalition

Maria Payan, Director
Peach Bottom Concerned Citizens Group

Erika Staaf, Clean Water Advocate
PennEnvironment

The Rev. Sandra L. Strauss, Director of Public Advocacy
Pennsylvania Council of Churches

Ken Undercoffer, President
Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited

Ron Evans, Chair
Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Fund

Lynda Farrell, Administrator
Pipeline Safety Coalition

Art Schiavo, Conservation Chairperson
Quittapahilla Audubon Society

John Hoekstra, Executive Director
Raymond Proffit Foundation

Barbara Benson and Thomas Au, Water Issues Co-chairs
Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter

Ellie Hyde, Chair
South Branch Tunkhannock Creek Watershed Coalition

Sarah Casper, President
Southeastern Pennsylvania Region of the League of Woman Voters

Ned Mulcahy, Esq., MPH, Executive Director
Three River Waterkeeper

Chuck Marshall
Valley Creek Restoration Partnership

Pete Goodman, President
Valley Forge Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Bob Adams, Director of Stewardship
Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association

cc. (e-mail) John Hines, PA-DEP

Decry the secrecy and industry giveaways – Call for real action to protect residents

(Harrisburg) – A number of environmental and community organizations gathered outside Governor Corbett’s office in the state capitol today to respond to the Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission.  Groups universally criticized the Commission’s final report, issued last Friday, as a product of its industry make-up and decried the secrecy employed to generate the final product.

“The Commission recognized the need for regulatory improvements, but in effect gave barely a nod to the serious and accelerating health and environmental problems in Pennsylvania’s gas patch,” said Nadia Steinzor, Marcellus Regional Organizer with Earthworks. “With strong incentives for the expansion of drilling, limited protections, and a willingness to violate the rights of landowners through forced pooling and municipalities by overriding zoning rights, the recommendations are yet another way to favor industry over citizens.”

“While the Commission held their secret deliberations, the state gave out 1,720 permits to drill in the Marcellus Shale.  Even though some of the recommendations recognize that residents lack the proper protections from drilling, when, if ever, will the state take action?  We need a halt to the mad rush to give out permits when even industry agrees that the rules are currently lacking,” stated Myron Arnowitt, PA State Director for Clean Water Action.

Many of the environmental recommendations in the Commission report have been proposed in legislation for several years with no action taken to date.  None of the drilling companies on the Commission have offered to abide by the recommendations in their own report.

“We have had information about the deleterious effects of Marcellus Shale gas drilling on our environment, health, and safety for years,” said Erika Staaf of PennEnvironment. “To delay implementing much-needed policy in order to regurgitate facts we already had at our fingertips is an abomination. It’s critical our state legislators to act swiftly to make meaningful progress to protect our drinking water, clean air, public lands and public health from the dangers of drilling.”

The environmental groups also noted a list of critical issues that the Commission ignored in making their final recommendations including:  lack of a moratorium and a requirement to conduct a cumulative impact analysis, no recommendations to address the need to test drinking water supplies, nothing to address the impacts of pipelines being built throughout the state, and a complete lack of attention to the air quality impacts from gas drilling and production.

“The Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission has ignored the serious air pollution problems associated with Marcellus-related development.  Well pads, compressor stations, and processing facilities are all going in largely without air pollution controls,” said Jeff Schmidt, Director of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter.  “The pollution from these facilities are felt by the public.  According the DEP, during the last week we have been experiencing public health-threatening “Code Orange” ozone action days over nearly all of Pennsylvania.  The pollution from gas drilling facilities will only make our air quality more dangerous.  We must require the best available pollution controls at all of these facilities, in order to protect public health”, Schmidt concluded.

The environmental organizations also noted the lack of real public participation in the process of drafting the report.  “Gov. Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission operated at a level of secrecy that evoked memories of Dick Cheney’s Energy Task Force. We’re very disappointed that there is no opportunity for Pennsylvanians to formally comment on the final report now that it has been made available to the public.  They deserve to have a real voice in matters as important as unconventional natural gas drilling,” stated Karen Feridun from Berks Gas Truth.

Checkout comparisons between Gov. Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission (MSAC) and the PA Campaign for Clean Water (CCW)