With nearly 100 people in attendance, the commissioners of Penn Township held a hearing last night regarding a section of their proposed zoning ordinance, which if passed, would allow for unconventional oil and gas drilling to be allowed in over 60 percent of the township. The proposed Mineral Extraction Overlay (MEO) district would essentially circumvent existing zoning requirements and allow heavy industry to operate in non-industrial zones.
The President of Protect PT, Gillian Graber, presented a petition to the commissioners made up of over 800 signatures, mostly township residents, opposing the MEO. “It’s been amazing to see the community come together,” Graber said. “It’s been a true community effort.”
Pat Emrich, a longtime resident of the township spoke about concerns having to deal with a legacy of extraction in the area. “We have suffered too long from coal mining and now a new industry will pollute the land we are trying to recover,” Emrich said.
Industry advocates praised the reduction in carbon dioxide of the last 10 years as well as rigorous DEP regulations in an effort to assuage fears about unconventional drilling. What they failed to mention is that although carbon dioxide levels are falling, methane emissions are growing at an alarming rate, and methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. They also failed to acknowledge that according to the DEP, 281 cases of private water supplies being impacted by oil and gas operations have been documented since 2008.
Michael McCawley, Interim Chair of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Services at WVU, warned of the increase in emissions from diesel truck traffic on and around well pads. “Allowing this to take place in a residential area is like putting and interstate in the middle of a residential neighborhood.”
The Penn Township commissioners are likely to vote on the proposed MEO at their next meeting, Monday, September 19th, at 7:00 pm. For more information on the MEO, visit the Protect PT website.