Porter Township opposes natural gas drilling
MUIR – The Porter Township Board of Supervisors made clear at its meeting Monday night that it opposes any Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling inside township borders.
“We will fight this if it comes to Porter Township,” Supervisor Bill Schaeffer said at the meeting after the issue was raised by several residents in attendance.
Rausch Creek Land LP, Valley View, has applied to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission for approval to withdraw up to 100,000 gallons of water each day from an abandoned strip mine pit in the township. In paperwork filed with Schuylkill County, the company states the water would be used for potential Marcellus Shale drilling, but questions remain and the company has refused to discuss its plans.
Nine township households bordering the land from which water may be withdrawn received letters from the company in December, but some of those residents believe those letters did not answer all of the outstanding questions.
Township resident Bonnie Minnich said she has considered starting a petition opposing potential gas drilling.
“I’m trying, but I’m only one” person, she said at the meeting.
Township resident Perry Pillar said the township will eventually have to address the concerns residents have.
“You’re going to have to take some of this in your hands,” he told the supervisors.
Schaeffer cited “horror stories” from northern Pennsylvania counties about water contamination when asked why the board of supervisors opposes potential drilling.
“We’re worried about our water safety,” Supervisor Troy Troup said after the meeting.
Rausch Creek Land owns property in Porter, Frailey, Tremont and Hegins townships.
While the paperwork filed in the county courthouse makes clear the water will be used for drilling on Rausch Creek land, it does not say if that land is in Schuylkill County. It is unclear whether the company owns land elsewhere in the state or if the water would be trucked to other areas in Pennsylvania where drilling is already under way.
The water withdrawal plan likely won’t be decided on by the SRBC until the summer.
http://republicanherald.com/news/porter-township-opposes-natural-gas-drilling-1.1108522
BY BEN WOLFGANG (STAFF WRITER bwolfgang@republicanherald.com)
Published: February 22, 2011