Elizabeth Township gives OK to EQT gas wells

Commissioners unanimously approved conditional use agreements amid objections from some township residents.

Despite some backlash from the public, Elizabeth Township commissioners voted Monday night to approve a permit authorizing the continuation of the EQT gas wells with several conditions.

Commissioners voted separately on the well pad’s conditional use application and the Hercules pipeline/ interconnect’s conditional use application with both being approved unanimously.

Commissioners Kyle Walk and Chris Thoma motioned to approve the wellpad, which is located less than a half-mile from Elizabeth Forward High School. Walk and Commissioner Mike Hansen motioned to approve the pipeline.

Solicitor Matt Racunas read the proposed conditions attached with the conditional use agreement with EQT, including the responsibility for all fees, onsite training for first responders, no permit structure more than 50 feet, updated insurance certificates and no onsite fracturing residuals.

Additionally, any township streets utilized in the process must remain free of dirt, mud and debris. EQT is required to repair and resurface any township-owned roadway if its equipment or vehicles cause damage.

Signs on the fencing, air monitoring reports, a radiation action plan and three security cameras were some of the other conditions in a long list that also includes timely notification in the event of emergency shutdowns or any major flare events.

EQT must meet with the township, school district and first responders regarding an emergency response plan, according to Racunas.

“Due to the wellpad’s proximity to the Elizabeth Forward High School property and Phase 2 of the Elizabeth Forward High School renovation project, and a need for the township’s fire departments and first responders to maintain emergency response capability specific to this site, EQT shall establish an emergency preparedness fund in an amount as set forth,” Racunas read.

Commissioners also required an emergency preparedness fund, which is a flat payment of the millage rates from the area. EQT has to pay for 10 years, and it will also go toward emergency apparatus.

Commissioners put off voting on a permit at last month’s workshop meeting, saying they needed more time. They reached an agreement with the company to extend the decision timeline until Sept. 18. A three-hour public hearing was held in July.

The project has been at the center of a three-year legal battle that pitted the company and township commissioners against Protect Elizabeth Township, a local environmental advocacy group.

PET filed a lawsuit against the township shortly after it approved a conditional use permit for the project in 2023. The permit allows property owners to use lands in ways not permitted by right in their zoning districts. The fracked wells started producing natural gas in April 2024, according to EQT legal filings.

A state appellate court threw out the original conditional use authorization last year, ruling that the township violated its own zoning regulations when it approved the project. EQT came back with a plan it believed would alleviate the issue by subdividing the property into separate lots.

PET is challenging the subdivision in court. It also filed a separate lawsuit to halt production at the site entirely, alleging that the site is unauthorized to produce gas without an existing permit. Both lawsuits are currently pending.

PET’s Scott Taylor told the Mon Valley Independent before Monday’s that he did not know what the commissioners would decide. After the vote, he said he was disappointed.

“We’ve got to figure out what we’re doing at this point,” Taylor said. “Right now, we still have appeals on the table. There’s two different lawsuits in place for them to uphold the court decision; they’re still pending.”

Taylor added that PET will continue to fight the wellpad use, stating they have 24 outstanding issues that were on their original appeal that have not gone away and they will try to get the wellpad shut down.

Resident Joelle Whiteman said she is an affected party in the lawsuits against the township and EQT. She added that the township never votes on pending litigation.

“I do not know how we are voting on this tonight,” Whiteman said. “I truly am baffled. I am not an idiot when it comes to local government laws. I know more about this case than you guys do, and we’re voting on pending litigation. We’re voting on something you all denied me party status on, and I reserve my right to appeal this when you approve this tonight.”

Many township residents voiced concerns during Monday’s meeting, including Fred Bickerton, who asked commissioners to vote no for the health and welfare of the township’s children.

Resident Ken Ball stated that according to the Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment, people have a right to clean air, water and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment.

“It requires the commonwealth to act, and which I might add, includes our commissioners, to act as trustees to conserve and maintain these resources for the benefit of all the people,” Ball added.

Resident Cathy Anderson is concerned about fracking, saying it does not serve the community well because keeping the wellpad will prevent people from living in the area.

Resident Kellianne Frketic added that it is not an industrial community, but rather a residential neighborhood, and said the wellpad is still operating without a permit.

“What are we spending in legal fees for this?” Frketic said. “Is it all that worth the money that our township is having to spend fighting for the health and wellness of our residents? The local government has a responsibility to look beyond the immediate financial benefits and ask is this appropriate for this location, and is this the kind of development we want to establish as a precedent in Elizabeth Township?”