Olympus Energy gas well in Washington Township on hold as more discussions to be scheduled

There are about 40 Marcellus shale natural gas wells in Washington Township, but adding another to that total isn’t yet a done deal.

Supervisors did not make a decision Jan. 13 on Olympus Energy’s proposal to drill a natural gas well off Kistler Drive, as questions arose regarding access to the well site.

Several residents complained using Lockwood Road off Route 286 would pose a danger to the residents living there, particularly children playing outside during the summer. They said Lockwood Road is only 18 feet wide, with almost 40 homes along the road.

Olympus Energy said it does not want to use Kistler Drive for access because a curve near the proposed well site is so severe that large trucks might not be able to negotiate the turn. To widen the road, a large tree would need to be removed.

There are only two homes, however, on that section of Kistler.

Township solicitor Wesley T. Long said the next move is to schedule “one or two workshop meetings” to further explore the issues.

Joining Long for the meetings would be Olympus representatives, township engineer Robert Grigas of Senate Engineering, one supervisor and interested residents.

After a lengthy comment period during the Jan. 13 meeting, Long said “this is more than we usually handle at a typical Thursday night (supervisors) meeting.”

Ryan Dailey of Civil Environmental Consultants and Brian Dillemuth of Olympus Energy presented the proposal to install a 350-foot by 500-foot well pad that would contain five well heads.

Dailey said sound walls would comply with the township’s noise ordinance, and a 2-foot-high earthen berm would be created on the perimeter of the well pad.

The well pad would be 1,000 feet from the nearest home on Kistler Drive, 2,000 feet from Route 66, 1,200 feet from Thompson Road and 1,000 feet from the nearest residence west of the site.

None of the commenters said they were against fracking but that they were concerned about huge trucks traveling through a residential neighborhood.

Resident Fred Schiffer suggested an access road from Thompson Road off Route 66 that would go through a small portion of Murrysville.

“I believe this is an option you could look at, and I’d ask the supervisors and others to review it,” Schiffer said.

The presenters said creating a new access road to avoid the turn on Kistler would require building a bridge.

Because the bridge would go over a stream that empties into Beaver Run Reservoir, a drinking water source, a joint permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would be necessary. Beaver Run Reservoir is the source of drinking water for 130,000 area residents, according to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County’s website.

Officials said the permit for a bridge could take up to a year to obtain.

Olympus had hoped to break ground on the well site in February and start drilling in September, but that appears unlikely after the call to schedule the workshop meetings to discuss the issues.