Jun 27, 2016 2 min read

The revised amendment regarding oil and gas development in South Strabane Township’s zoning ordinance will again receive public comment and possible adoption Tuesday.

This revision will only allow deep-well gas drilling in industrial and certain mineral extraction districts. This type of spot zoning has been done nowhere else in Washington County. That means no deep gas wells can be drilled in residential or agricultural zones where there are large tracts of open, undeveloped land. I attended numerous township meetings and no one has fully defined what a mineral extraction district is and how it applies to our township. South Strabane leaseholders large and small stand to lose out completely if this ordinance is approved.

Even the township’s planning commission turned down this revised amendment June 2, as they found it perplexing the mineral extraction district could not be clearly defined.

All residents of South Strabane benefit from the gas drilling industry via Act 13 impact fees; our township received $609,500 since 2011. This money helped purchase new equipment for the road and fire departments, improve bridges and roadways and provide amenities for our township parks. Thanks to Act 13 money, township residents did not have to fully bear the burden of costly repairs to Cameron Road.

The revised amendment is truly restrictive and, if approved, will result in months, if not years in the courthouse at the expense of South Strabane taxpayers. The supervisors said they took an oath to represent the people. Range Resources and Rice Energy have a combined 1,860 active leases encompassing 14,000 acres in South Strabane. Are they really listening to the hundreds of residents who share these leases, or do they have a vendetta against this much-needed industry?

Janie Deemer

South Strabane Township