MarkWest, Range Resources Again Appeal Compressor Station Decision

The companies filed separate notices of appeal.

MarkWest and Range Resoures have appealed a Washington County judge's decision regarding a special exception to build a natural gas compressor station in Cecil Township. The companies filed separate notices of appeal last week, township officials said. The case will go to the Commonwealth Court. Judge John DiSalle had denied the appeal in a decision last month. "After careful review of the record...the court is satisfied that the zoning hearing board vigilantly considered all of the relevant evidence and used sound discretion in reaching the conclusion that MarkWest had failed to meet its burden to demonstrate that the proposed compressor facility was of the same general character of other permitted uses within the I1 light industrial zone…

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Judge Denies MarkWest Appeal Over Compressor Station

The court affirmed the Cecil Township Zoning Board's decision to deny the company's request for a special exception to build the facility.

A Washington County Common Pleas judge this week denied an appeal MarkWest filed over the denial of a special exception to build a natural gas compressor station in Cecil Township. "After careful review of the record...the court is satisfied that the zoning hearing board vigilantly considered all of the relevant evidence and used sound discretion in reaching the conclusion that MarkWest had failed to meet its burden to demonstrate that the proposed compressor facility was of the same general character of other permitted uses within the I1 light industrial zone," Judge John DiSalle wrote in his opinion, which was filed Monday. He continued: "Moreover, the proposed facility does not pass muster to be labled as the same general character of …

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MarkWest Asks Cecil for Compressor Station Permit

The company said in a letter that to persist in an appeal would be "fruitless" because the state's new Marcellus Shale law takes effect next month.

Cecil Solicitor John Smith told supervisors Monday that MarkWest wrote a letter to the township demanding that the board issue a permit for a proposed natural gas compressor station to be located off state Route 980 near Coleman Road. The request, he said, came in light of the state’s new Marcellus Shale law—Act 13, which was previously known as HB 1950. MarkWest last year filed an appeal regarding Cecil Township zoning board's denial of its special request to install a compressor station for Marcellus Shale gas. “I wouldn’t say demanded. I’d say requested,” Chris Rimkus, special counsel for MarkWest, said of the letter Monday. The letter, dated March 1, suggests that the township and MarkWest cancel mediation scheduled for March 14. It …

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Representin'

This Is Not 'The Right Way' on Marcellus Shale

State Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, said the recent Marcellus Shale bill that passed the House would effectively eliminate the right of local municipalities to pass reasonable ordinances dealing with natural gas operations, which also includes pipelines and

Last week, two bills advanced through their respective chambers in the Legislature. Don’t let anyone tell you these bills, Senate Bill 1100 and House Bill 1950, were “the best we could do” on the issue of Marcellus Shale. When you consider all the time spent on the studies, hearings and commissions—coupled with the immense importance of natural gas development on the future of our region—these proposals are woefully inadequate in more ways than I can count. I’ll focus on House Bill 1950, the bill our chamber passed. This bill is simply a horrific plan for anyone in southwestern Pennsylvania who cares about the effects of the natural gas industry on their local communities, which is why I voted ‘no’ on the bill. This bill would effectively …

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Five Things You Need to Know This Week

Cecil Township supervisors to hold special meeting about compressor stations and North Strabane board to hold its voting meeting this week.

1. Cecil Township supervisors will hold a roundtable meeting with MarkWest and others regarding an ordinance they are mulling about the regulation of compressor stations related to the Marcellus Shale industry. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the public meeting room. 2. North Strabane Township supervisors will hold their voting meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday. 3. A trio of state legislators will host their annual Senior Expo Thursday at the Washington Crown Center. Click here for more info. 4. If you need to visit the Canonsburg Police Department this week, remember that the offices have been temporarily moved to the first floor. For easy access just take the elevator to the first floor. The downtown parking office has also been…

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'Roundtable' Discussion Over Compressor Stations Scheduled

A MarkWest representative said this week he was frustrated over lack of communication—so supervisors scheduled another hearing to get more input on compressor stations related to the Marcellus Shale industry.

A representative from MarkWest implored Cecil supervisors this week not to take action on an ordinance governing where compressor stations related to the Marcellus Shale industry will be permitted in the township. "I don't think the comments we've made have been addressed," associate counsel Chris Rimkus told the board during its sixth public hearing on the matter on Tuesday. He expressed frustration with the process, saying that although MarkWest had submitted comments regarding the ordinance, "I've never gotten any follow up." And Rimkus again told the board that portions of the ordinance, which would permit compressor stations as a conditional use, over-reach and are superceded by state and federal law. After some back and forth over …

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Eric Belcastro

1:56 pm on Saturday, September 10, 2011

"It's rather unfortunate that most citizens that walk into a township hearing sacrifice without a fight their sovereign right to say “no” to that which is harming them. Instead they argue like many in Cecil Township and Mount Pleasant Township have. They argue over what portion of their township they are going to sacrifice. They argue over how to enforce the standards, written by the industry …   more ›

Another Compressor Station Meeting Ends With No Action

After meeting for two hours Monday, Cecil supervisors did not make a decision regarding an ordinance governing compressor stations.

The Cecil Township meeting room Monday night was filled with supervisors, MarkWest representatives and approximately two dozen residents who again discussed compressor stations in the township—but again no resolution was reached. Many of the same issues that monopolized past public hearings again surfaced with no resolution offered. This was the fourth hearing regarding the zoning of compressor stations, which was again continued. Perhaps the largest item in the ordinance preventing the board of supervisors from finally being able to adopt it is the proposed allowable setback from other properties. In its current form, the ordinance calls for a setback of 1,500 feet from the property line of a protected structure. Christopher Rimkus, …

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Supervisors Solicit Public Opinion on Compressor Station

Cecil Township is mulling an ordinance that would permit compressor stations as a conditional use in certain industrial districts.

Kathy Helbling scoured the Internet to find the locations of nearby compressor stations so she could drive by to hear for herself the kind of noise it generated. And she quickly discovered they all seemed to be tucked away in secluded, rural places – places down long winding roads and away from housing developments, schools and other high-traffic areas. “It makes me wonder a lot,” she told the Cecil Township Board of Supervisors Monday during a public hearing regarding a proposed ordinance that would govern where compressor stations would be permitted. While Helbling was describing the compressor station MarkWest is seeking a special exception to install on Coleman Road near state Route 980, the supervisors on Monday met to solicit public …

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