SALEM, Ohio — After months of litigation, the Cecil Township Zoning Hearing Board voted 2-0 to dismiss Range Resources’ challenge on June 16 to the township’s recently adopted oil and gas ordinance.
The oil and gas companies’ substantive validity challenge, originally filed in January, stated that the western Pennsylvania township’s increased well pad setback of 2,500 feet from protected structures is exclusionary, effectively banning oil and gas drilling in the township. Pennsylvania’s Act 13 prohibits townships from banning businesses from all zoning districts via local ordinances.
Troy Gump, vice chairperson of the Cecil Township Zoning Hearing Board, and Ted Darnold, an alternate member of the zoning hearing board, voted to dismiss the challenge. Chairperson Kara Shirdon previously had to recuse herself from voting after Range Resources argued she was biased.
In reaction to the dismissal, Tom Casicola, chairperson of the Cecil Township Board of Supervisors, stood by his support for the ordinance, saying it was in need of an update given how much the population has grown in the township since the oil and gas ordinance was initially enacted in 2011. The township has gained nearly 4,000 residents since 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Final testimony
Both parties provided final testimony a week before at a final public hearing on June 12. Cecil Township Solicitor Gretchen Moore sought a motion to dismiss the challenges, citing that Range Resources’ dispute was not developed enough to be heard by a court because the company has no plans for future wells in the township. There are no pending permits, and no pre-geological testing evaluation has been conducted.
She cited a similar zoning case that took place in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in 2019, when Westmoreland-based oil and gas company Penneco Environmental Solutions’ substantive validity challenge to the Borough of Plum’s zoning ordinance was dismissed. The case was dismissed after the court ruled the company’s dispute was not developed enough because it had no federal or state permits for an injection well.
Moore also noted that Range Resources can drill laterals as long as four miles long and this number is only set to increase, which should not prohibit the company’s ability to access sub-surface oil and gas rights. Currently, Range Resources has five well pads in Cecil Township with more than 25 wells on them.
Additionally, Moore emphasized that the waiver provision still permits the company to drill, as it allows landowners to waive the 2,500-foot setback if all neighboring properties within that distance sign off.
“The waiver provision is part of this township’s deliberate zoning structure … designed to balance public safety and private choice, and it cannot be disregarded,” Moore said.
Kimberly Brown, a lawyer representing Range Resources, argued that the township knowingly made the ordinance exclusionary, citing comments made by Casicola at a May 8, 2024, public hearing where residents and board members discussed an early iteration of the ordinance.
During that meeting, Casicola said a 2,500 setback would effectively zone out oil and gas development entirely, which the township can’t do according to Pennsylvania law. This comment was made before the waiver option was added to the ordinance.
According to Brown, the Washington County Planning Commission also advised the township in August 2024 not to adopt the ordinance, as the setback distance — which was less than 2,500 feet at the time — would not allow for reasonable development of oil and gas operations, which would render the ordinance exclusionary.
Despite a win for the township, Casicola anticipates that Range Resources will appeal the decision in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas. Range Resources did not respond to Farm and Dairy’s request for comment.
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
