McCandless council adopts new rules to regulate Marcellus shale drilling

Energy companies looking to set up Marcellus shale drilling operations in McCandless will have to adhere to new rules that are being crafted by town officials.

Council approved amendments to its oil and gas drilling laws to include shale drilling as a “pending” ordinance, which means even though some of the changes to the law still need to be worked out, the revision takes effect immediately.

The biggest change in the ordinance is the elimination of drilling in the town’s commercial districts.

Under the revised law, drilling can only occur on land zoned “institutional district,” which includes public school property, hospitals and universities. North Park also is located in an institutional district.

Town manager Bob Grimm said institutional districts likely comprise less than 10% of the usable land in McCandless.

Grimm said there are no Marcellus shale drilling operations currently in the town.

Approving changes as a pending ordinance can be used by municipal governments to stave off a so-called “rush to city hall.”

“The pending ordinance doctrine allows us to proceed with immediate application of new zoning regulations,” said town attorney Gavin Robb. “It means an applicant can’t go and file (for an application) under existing regulations simply because the municipality has not had time to go through the required process.”

In 2017, Ross Township passed a pending ordinance to regulate marijuana-related business locations in the municipality. Last year, Ross used the doctrine to control the proliferation of political signs along roadways so it was in effect before the May primary.

Marcellus shale drilling operations, or unconventional wells, access large reservoirs of underground natural gas through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Hydraulic fracturing involves forcing a liquid under high pressure from a wellbore against a rock formation until it fractures. The injected fluid contains a proppant — small, solid particles, usually sand or a man-made granular solid of similar size — that wedges open the expanding fractures and allows hydrocarbons, such as crude oil and natural gas, to flow more easily.

Marcellus shale drilling is primarily regulated by the state.

And while municipalities cannot ban fracking, they can create rules to “make it as safe and as unobtrusive as possible,” said McCandless town manager Bob Grimm.

Following are some of the requirements contained in the 35-page pending ordinance, which mandates drilling operations:

• Have a minimum of 10 contiguous acres of land

• Be at least 1,000 feet from any preexisting building on adjacent land

• Limit deliveries and pickups to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday

• Carry $25 million in liability insurance

• Repair damage to roads caused by heavy trucks

• Be built to minimize the destruction of trees and shrubs

• Provide access for emergency responders

• Only store equipment on site that is essential to day-to-day operations

• Provide the town with copies of all environmental studies, testing, permits and plans

• Control noise, dust, light and emissions.

The pending ordinance must be submitted to the Allegheny County Planning Commission for approval. It will then go back to the McCandless Planning Commission.

Council is expected to hold a required public hearing in August and vote in September on whether to adopt the changes to the law.