A Washington County judge has set a Sept. 28 hearing for arguments over whether to block a voter referendum on natural gas drilling in Peters.
At a brief hearing this morning, Judge Paul Pozonsky said he will try to make a decision about a petition from Peters Solicitor William Johnson before the first week in October, when absentee ballots for the general election are to be printed and mailed.
Mr. Johnson, at the behest of Peters council, is trying to prevent the referendum from making it onto the Nov. 8 ballot, saying he believes it to be "patently illegal."
"The township has spent the past year and a half attempting to formulate a defendable zoning ordinance" regarding Marcellus Shale drilling, Mr. Johnson told the judge.
The referendum asks Peters voters whether to ban gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing -- or fracking -- of the Marcellus Shale, and other natural gas extraction activities. If approved, it would override an ordinance passed by council last month.
Members of the Peters Township Marcellus Shale Awareness group, which last month presented a petition with 2,422 signatures of residents to the county elections office to get the referendum included on the ballot, said they want voters to decide the issue.
"We think it's important to the citizens and voters of Peters Township," said Cathy Eddy, one of the group's members.
Ms. Eddy said PTMSA plans to file a brief defending the referendum.
"We're in the legislative process; we're trying to change the law," she said. "Our home rule charter gives us that right."
Specifically, the referendum would ask voters in the county's largest municipality to establish a "bill of rights" that would amend the home rule charter and ban drilling.
If it's approved by voters, the referendum would make the township's position "untenable" and "indefensible" for a number of reasons, Mr. Johnson said, including that it would violate the state's Oil & Gas Act, which governs gas well drilling regulations and pre-empts local governments from regulating most aspects of gas drilling.
Peters Council voted unanimously last night to mount a legal challenge to the referendum, saying they feared it would expose taxpayers to "tens of millions of dollars" in liability from drilling companies and property owners with leases.
The county elections office will not fight the issue either way, because paperwork for the referendum appears to have been filed properly, said county Solicitor Mary Lynn Drewitz.
"We're neutral," said Ms. Drewitz.
The judge ordered all parties to submit briefs to his office by Sept. 21.
First Published: September 13, 2011, 4:00 a.m.
