Cecil neighbors ask judge to nix proposed gas well
A group of property owners who object to the Cecil Township supervisors’ July 3 approval of Range Resources’ natural gas well pad on George and Deborah Augustine’s 32.5 acres on North Depaoli Road have asked that a Washington County judge overturn the decision.
Filing a land-use appeal Wednesday were Joseph and Linda Janocha, Rock and Jennifer Nagy, Jeremy and Kara Shirdon, all of North Depaoli Road; Josh and Michelle Stonemark of McDonald, who intend to build their home on North DePaoli Road, and Merle Lesko of Coleman Road.
At a public hearing in May, they noted Cecil Township Supervisor Elizabeth J. Cowden “indicated she has a financial interest” in Range Resources and asked her to recuse herself from any decision on the Augustine well. Last month, Cowden and three other supervisors, Thomas Casciola, Eric Sivavec and Frank Egizio, according to township records, voted to grant conditional use with dozens of conditions as outlined by the township’s attorney, Alan T. Shuckrow, on the well in an area zoned low-density residential. Supervisor Cindy Fisher was not present for the vote, township records show.
Agriculture, home offices, personal care boarding homes, day care centers, kennels and bread-and-breakfast lodging is permitted in that type of zone to preserve what the appeal called a “rural, natural environment.”
The appeal stated that oil and gas extraction is heavy industry that is inconsistent with the township’s unified development ordinance and will deter potential buyers of home sites and decrease property values because it may “substantially reduce enjoyment, peace and tranquilty” and violate their constitutional rights. North Depaoli Road, according to the court case, narrows to 16 feet in some areas, less than twice the width of a typical tri-axle truck carrying an 8 1/2-foot dump bed, not counting side-view mirrors.
Lesko’s home-schooled children will be subjected to conditions that could impair their learning, the 33-page appeal also asserted, and Cecil Township performed no analysis of mitigating potential hazardous fumes, noise or dust.
“The oil and gas industry is clearly a favored industry of the board of supervisors of Cecil Township, and, in this role, the board of supervisors does not bind the oil and gas industry to the restrictions on land use that are nominally intended to promote health, safety and welfare,” the 33-page appeal filed by attorney Michael A. Maccagnan claims. It goes on to state that oil and gas development is a private interest, rather than one that serves the community.
According to information Range filed with the township March 9, construction on the site, including an access road, would begin in the spring of 2018, with vertical and horizontal drilling of eight initial wells taking place from July through October of that year.
No court date has been scheduled.