Local Drilling Law Advances
Will allow for possible wells in city limits
Morgantown Dominion Post
7 July 2001
By Joel Cuthbert
WESTOVER — City officials hope to protect the health and safety of
residents without closing the door on Marcellus shale drilling, and its
potential economic benefits.
At the city council meeting Tuesday, council members approved the first
reading of a law establishing regulations on drilling in the city as
well as a 1-mile area surrounding the city. The law, which officials
have stressed is less restrictive than the city of Morgantown’s
outright ban, will become effective following a second and final
reading at the next council meeting.
Mayor Dave Johnson said after the meeting that the law will accommodate
drilling proposed in and around the city that will not harm the
surrounding community.
“There are so many unanswered questions about this, but we’re trying to
deal with facts instead of fear,” he explained. “We’re trying not to
open ourselves up to a lawsuit, but, at the same time, we’re trying to
protect the citizens.”
Johnson added he feels comfortable that the law satisfies arguments in
favor of and against Marcellus shale drilling by considering both the
environmental and economic impacts.
Unlike a preliminary draft of the law proposed in early June, the
current proposal only bans drilling in Residential-1, Residential-2 and
Residential-3/Commercial districts in the city. It leaves Industrial
Districts in the city open to drilling “with specific authorization by
ordinance.”
“By it being allowed in the industrial zone, it would be within the
city limits, so that would be revenue for the city,” Johnson explained
afterward.
Likewise, drilling within the 1-mile buffer zone surrounding the city
would be permitted with “authorization by ordinance.”
Per the law up for adoption, authorization for any and all drilling in
or around the city will be granted only after city council investigates
the matter to determine “whether the proposed hydraulic fracturing
presents a hazard to the health and safety of the citizens of the
city.” If the findings support the claim the proposed project will do
no harm, a law authorizing the drilling must pass through three
readings.
Violation of the city’s law would result in a fine of up to $500 per
day, per violation. Johnson also maintains the authority to employ
legal counsel to “institute a civil action seeking an injunction to
prevent the violation of this ordinance.”
City attorney Bryan Edwards said he felt Westover’s proposed law showed
a willingness to consider the facts prior to making any decision, which
he previously said would be less open to contention than a pre-emptive
blanket denial. A decision made before the facts are presented could be
overturned as “arbitrary and capricious” if challenged by a prospective
driller, he explained in June, taking the decision out of officials’
hands entirely.
“The way the ordinance is written, I believe it’s legal, in the fact
that anyone who wishes to do so can come in here and present their
evidence,” he said following the meeting Tuesday. “It’s not an absolute
prohibition against it, so I think it would be legally upheld in court.”
A public comment session will be held prior to the next council
meeting, and second reading of the law, at 6 p.m. July 18.