Mt. Pleasant finally holds hearing
A zoning hearing regarding Range Resources’ use of four water impoundment facilities in Mt. Pleasant Township was held Tuesday, more than two months after it was continued in August because of the length of the proceedings.
During the hearing, zoning board members listened to testimony from Range Resources director of government relations James Cannon, Mt. Pleasant zoning officer Larry Chome and township supervisor Larry Grimm.
Range Resources attorney Shawn Gallagher argued the township’s contention that the company violated land-use rules by continuing to use wastewater and freshwater impoundments there because the well pads closest to the sites had stopped production.
Gallagher, who asked the notices of violations be dismissed, said the impoundments were a legal nonconforming use and did not count as a well pad accessory. He also said Range has resumed drilling on Chiarelli property, so the basis on which the notices of violation were issued no longer existed.
“The basis for the notices of violation can no longer stand,” he said. “You said the wells at or near the sites were no longer being drilled so there was no need for the existence of the impoundment. That’s not the case.”
He also said Range has not concealed any information about the extent of drilling and has acted in good faith during the time it has operated in the township.
Attorney Dwight Ferguson, who represents several township residents, argued that initial plans presented to the township and state Department of Environmental Protection in 2009 indicated the Carter and Cowden impoundments would serve 12 wells in Mt. Pleasant Township, but has expanded to 192 wells serving three counties and more than a dozen municipalities, effectively turning the township into a water treatment facility.
The zoning hearing board offered residents an opportunity to testify and ask questions Tuesday night. Among those who spoke was resident Jane Worthington, who asked whether the township needed four impoundments, if it wants the impoundments, and if it wants to accept other municipalities’ waste water. She also asked if the township should be reimbursed by the municipalities who dispose of their waste water in the impoundments.