Gas, oil well drilling ordinance introduced

HERMITAGE, Pa. -- City commissioners introduced an ordinance Wednesday designed to regulate gas and oil well drilling.
The city's regulations can't supersede state regulations on drilling but they can fill in areas the state doesn't cover, said City Manager Gary Hinkson.
The ordinance would require a city permit, a $10,000 performance bond, a $12,500 road maintenance bond for each mile of city roadway used as access to a well site, the cleaning of streets dirtied by drilling equipment or trucks, a 90-day well closure notice to allow for inspection and provisions for minimizing the noise from drilling rigs.
Opposition: Commissioner Pat White said he will oppose the ordinance as written because it doesn't offer residents protection by specifying how close wells can be drilled to residences.
One well site on Highland Road is just 114 feet from an apartment complex, he said.
Hinkson said well location is covered by state regulations and the city can't supersede state law by enacting tougher site requirements.
The proposed ordinance makes no mention of acceptable drilling hours.
A group of residents had approached the city last fall asking that drilling near residential areas be banned during the nighttime.
Commissioners will have a public hearing on the ordinance May 23.
In other business, they approved an ordinance allowing day care centers in central commercial and highway commercial zoning districts. They were previously allowed only in certain residential areas but a company is interested in opening a day care/learning center on state Route 18 in a commercial zone.
They also approved The Village at Pierce Bluffs planned residential development on Lamor Road.
Construction of 27 single-family condominium villas on about 16 acres is the first phase of a plan to eventually cover 100 acres with more condos and single-family homes.