Plum ends fight against injection well project

After losing three legal battles and about $32,000, Plum is giving up the fight against an injection well project.

Further conflicts with Penneco Environmental Solutions could be extremely expensive and likely futile, according to borough officials.

“We were advised as to our risks and outcomes by our solicitor,” Councilman Mike Doyle said. “We all agreed the injection well was worth fighting to a certain point … We’re at the edge of the cliff. We’re looking at significant money if we go any further. It could be upwards of half-a-million dollars, we’re told, for another loser. I think that’s something we really need to look hard at.”

The borough has been fighting the use of a natural gas well off Old Leechburg Road that was first drilled in 1989. The conventional, non-shale well extracted natural gas until 2015, when it was put out of service and plugged due to low production.

Delmont-based Penneco wants to use the well, which borders Murrysville and Upper Burrell, to dispose of naturally-occurring fluids and fluids that are generated by hydraulic fracturing from oil and gas production operations.

Fracking is a technique to extract oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel and chemicals.

There were multiple hearings and discussions about the injection well through the years, with residents and groups opposing the project.

Penneco submitted a petition to the borough’s zoning hearing board on Sept. 9, 2016, challenging the validity of the borough’s zoning ordinance. Penneco claimed it was invalid because it prohibited underground injection wells throughout the borough.

At least 200 people opposed permit approval during a public hearing in July 2017, but the federal Environmental Protection Agency granted it. Council then adopted a new zoning ordinance Dec. 11, 2017, allowing injection wells as a conditional use in the heavy industrial district.

The state Department of Environmental Protection granted the company a permit for the project in April. The borough appealed it at the time, but terminated that effort earlier this month.

“We’ve done everything we can to stop this injection well,” Doyle said.

The borough conducted a survey earlier this year to gauge public opinion on continuing the fight against Penneco.

There were 199 responses with 176 residents reportedly concerned about the injection well.

Nearly 155 of respondents indicated they wanted to continue the legal battle, but with a cap on the cost to the borough.

Borough officials said 84 respondents wanted to fight the injection well regardless of cost.

Council President Dave Odom said the survey seemed to indicate residents’ desire to fight the project decreased as the potential cost to the borough increased.

Councilman Dave Vento said Plum has to make a business decision even though most of the borough seems to be against the project.

“I’d like to fight this as long as humanly possible,” he said. “I agree with our solicitor. It’s probably a loser. I agree with the decision not to move forward.”

Penneco Chief Operating Officer Ben Wallace said the company will use an existing well and build a processing facility on the site.

“It’s a good thing,” Wallace said about the borough relenting. “It’s frustrating that the process takes four to six years. I think that’s excessive regulation, but it’s encouraging that we’ve reached a point where we can move forward.”

The permit restricts the injection well’s monthly intake of produced fluidsand requires Penneco to do mechanical integrity tests afterconstruction, according to EPA documents.

Wallace said the company spent about $1 million so far in the project.

“We’re not going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars developing permits that are scientifically inaccurate,” said Wallace. “We don’t do things that are not environmentally compliant … It’s not just little old Penneco decided to put a well in. Every aspect of this has to be backed by a professional engineer.”

Wallace said he hopes to break ground this summer, but needs a grading and building permit from the borough before any work can be done.