By Stacy Lee

Published: Thursday, March 21, 2013, 4:01 a.m.
Updated: Thursday, March 21, 2013

White Oak council unanimously approved the signing of an agreement extension with Penneco earlier this week for a leasing gas drilling privilege at Heritage Hill Park for as long as five years.

Penneco will pay the borough $10,000.

White Oak Councilman Kenneth Robb said Penneco previously had options to drill at Heritage Hill Park and on White Oak Athletic Association property.

“It seems we will not be drilling at the athletic association,” he said. “They had an option to drill at Heritage Hill and they just renewed their option. They had an option to drill at the athletic association, but they didn't ask to renew it.”

“This is an extension of the existing agreement whereby we'll earn $10,000,” council president Dave Pasternak said.

He said council had public meetings on the matter prior to executing the agreement originally a few years ago.

No date has been set for drilling to begin.

“The market is on the low side for that commodity so I don't think that there will be any drilling in the near future,” borough secretary Nancy Greenland said.

Robb said the shallow drilling doesn't involve fracking and runoff issues like Marcellus shale drilling.

“If they put it in Heritage Hill Park, it would be away from the public,” he said. “We have the rights under the option to tell them we want it here and we don't want it there.”

Stacy Lee is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-664-9161, ext. 1970, or slee@tribweb.com.

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