Rostraver Township Zoning board denies Olympus well pad request
By LIAM BELAN
lbelan@yourmvi.com
After months of hearings and hours of testimony, the Rostraver Township Zoning Hearing board unanimously voted to deny a special request from Olympus Energy requesting an exception to build and operate a well pad in a hearing Wednesday night.
Board Chairman John Bedell, Vice Chairman Stuart Boyd and Secretary Larry Callaway Sr. voted against the request by Olympus. Board members William Hoffman Jr. and G. Adam Martin were absent.
“On this particular case, we have had 10 public meetings,” Bedell said right before voting took place. “We have heard over 24 hours of testimony, public comment … and I just want to say that this board appreciates everyone’s cooperation. This board has had the roughest time making the decision on this case; I’ve been on the board 20 years and I have not seen anything that took this long or was this important to so many people.”
Olympus Energy had been looking to construct the Hera Well Pad at 107 Gallitin Road, which is currently zoned A-1 for agricultural land, right next to the Rostraver Ice Garden, which is zoned as B-2 for commercial business. The argument against the drill site was that it could potentially intrude on surrounding land such as the home of Julie Lorenzo-Muccino, who attended the hearing and was thrilled with the outcome.
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