Damascus supervisors look for county role in gas drilling

By TOM KANE

DAMASCUS, PA - Damascus Township officials said that they feel powerless in the face of the expected arrival of gas companies. The reason being is the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Law forbids them from regulating the operations of these companies in any way.

The township is especially worried about damage to roads.

At their meeting on October 20, the Damascus supervisors discussed an idea presented by a local resident Dick Barrett that advocated a county task force be formed to facilitate communication between gas companies and municipalities, without imposing any regulations.

The supervisors reacted positively to Barrett’s plan.

“We have heard that two counties in the state have adopted such a taskforce,” said Jeff Dexter, chairman of the Damascus supervisors.

Barrett said that Bradford County is moving in the direction of forming such a taskforce through the efforts of the Pennsylvania Association of Township Supervisors. Pike County Commissioner Harry Forbes, who recently added a gas drilling informational session in Bradford, said that Susquehanna and Bradford had each established a taskforce. “Susquehanna is way ahead of Bradford in encouraging communication between the townships and the gas companies.”

However, at the Wayne County Commissioner’s meeting on October 21, chairman Brian Smith said the county has no role in overseeing the operation of the gas companies. “It would be totally up to the townships and the association to form such a taskforce,” he said.

When told of Smith’s position, Dexter said he still thinks the taskforce is a good idea and “that it is a work in process.”

According to Barrett’s plan, the taskforce would work closely with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and county officials to set up communication lines with municipalities, insuring that townships are not bypassed and have time to discuss and resolve critically important issues upfront. Other taskforce functions would be to establish a township help desk/hotline and a website to keep residents informed and be responsive to their needs throughout the entire gas drilling period.