[Added by Ord. No. 911,
3/17/2014]
It is hereby declared to be the purpose of this article to declare that natural gas compressor stations be considered a "conditional use" in all zoning districts and in all parts of the Township as part of the Oil and Gas Overlay District within the Township. Elizabeth Township recognizes that the regulation of oil and gas operations is the primary responsibility of the regulatory agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but that the Township maintains its zoning powers as set forth in Pennsylvania Statute Title 53, Municipality Planning Code ("MPC") and through the Township Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision and Land Development Regulations as set forth in Chapters 10, 22 and 27 of the Township's Code of Ordinances. It is in the Township's best interest to address the zoning districts where such activities are sought to be undertaken and to have information concerning oil and gas exploration, development, and production taking place within the Township and to ensure certain security and safety measures related to oil and gas development are in place in certain areas, if approved.
As used in this article, the following terms shall be interpreted
or defined as follows:
The all-encompassing noise level associated with a given
environment, being a composite of sounds from all sources at the location
constituting the normal or existing level of environmental noise at
a given location without extreme atmospheric conditions, such as wind
greater than three meters per second or precipitation, and then adjusting
the noise level to eliminate any noise associated with then existing
development of facilities.
The noise level shall be established based on a test performed
during a continuous seventy-two-hour time span which shall include
at least one twenty-four-hour reading during either a Saturday or
Sunday. The testing shall be done by a qualified noise control engineer
or other qualified person approved by the Township and shall be in
accordance with specifications ANSI S12.18-1994 Method II and ANSI
SI.4-1971. The Township reserves the right to hire a third-party consultant
to witness testing and review the results. The third-party costs will
be deducted from the facility operator's escrow deposit. The sound
level meters used shall meet the American Standard Institute's standard
for a Type I sound level meter.
Accepted, sanctioned or endorsed by appropriate Township,
county, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or federal government bodies.
A unit for measuring the intensity of a sound/noise; equal
to 10 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the measured
sound pressure, squared to a reference pressure of 20 micropascals.
A facility designed and constructed to compress natural gas
that originates from an oil and gas well or collection of such wells
operating as a midstream facility for delivery of oil and gas to a
transmission pipeline, distribution pipeline, natural gas processing
plant, or underground storage field, including one or more natural
gas compressors, associated buildings, pipes, valves, tanks and other
equipment.
A facility that is not a natural gas compressor station that
is designed and constructed to remove materials such as ethane, propane,
butane, and other constituents or similar substances from natural
gas to allow such natural gas to be of such quality as is required
or appropriate for transmission or distribution to commercial markets
but not including facilities or equipment that are/is designed and
constructed primarily to remove water, water vapor, oil or naturally
occurring liquids from natural gas, which includes "dew point control
facilities."
The process of perforating the earth's surface and rock layers
to extract fossil fuels, natural gas or oil for energy production,
and all associated equipment, structures and construction at the drilling
site including the well pad, access roads, hydraulic fracturing, production,
pipelines, tanks, meters, and temporary work crew and supervisor trailers
for exploration and production at a single well pad, including multiple
wells at a single well pad, and all subsequent site reclamation activities
which follow the production phase.
Any person, partnership, company, corporation, and its subcontractors,
and agents who operate or seek to operate a natural gas compressor
station.
Any occupied residence, commercial business, school, religious
institution or other public building located within 500 feet of a
natural gas compressor station that may be impacted by noise, emissions,
light, or other negative attributes not limited to natural gas compressor
stations and associated with activities as defined herein.
The required minimum horizontal distance between the building
line and the related front, side, or rear property line, or along
a private or public street, in which no building or accessory structure
may be located above ground, except as otherwise provided in this
article (excludes nominal roof overhangs, chimneys, unenclosed porches
and stoops, and porch or entrance roofs not exceeding six feet in
depth).
With the exception of the definition for "oil and gas development
or development" as set forth above, as used in this article the term
"site" is defined as a natural gas compressor station, as defined
above, and the property surrounding a natural gas compressor station
upon which any equipment, fixtures, storage, access roads, driveways,
maintenance, and activities associated with the natural gas compressor
station are located.
Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
A.Â
Elizabeth Township hereby declares that natural gas compressors stations
are defined as a conditional use within industrial zoning districts.
The use shall be subject to the following standards: If the proposed
use is granted, consistent with Article XIV of this chapter as amended,
in addition to the conditions listed below, Elizabeth Township shall
impose any and all reasonable safeguards or conditions necessary to
implement the intent of that article and shall review the particular
facts and circumstances of each proposed conditional use application
in terms of the standards listed in Article XIV of this chapter as
well as more specific criteria as set forth in the remaining paragraphs
herein. Applicant shall have the duty and the burden to prove compliance
with the specific conditions set forth herein and by way of this article.
Applicant shall bear the burden of persuasion to demonstrate that
the proposed conditional use will not have detrimental effects on
the health, safety and welfare of Township residents relative to any
additional conditions.
B.Â
Conditional use approval for a natural gas compressor station shall
be valid for a period of one year from the date of the approval. If
development has not been initiated within one year after the conditional
use approval, the conditional use approval shall expire. An extension
may be granted by the Elizabeth Township Board of Commissioners for
an additional period of time, not to exceed a maximum of one year
upon written request by the applicant filed prior to the expiration
of the original one-year period, subject to the finding that the plan
is in compliance with all current applicable provisions and requirements.
D.Â
Natural gas compressor station construction shall comply with the
Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, 35 P.S. §§ 7210.101
to 7210.1103, as amended, which was adopted by the Township in Ordinance
795.
E.Â
Right of Entry: The Zoning Officer/Code Enforcement Officer or duly
authorized Township Official may enter the premises or structure during
normal business hours to verify or enforce provisions of this article
and the conditional use approval. If premises or structure is unmanned,
or, if there is reasonable cause to believe a condition exists on
the premise which violates the ordinance constituting an unsafe condition,
access shall be granted within 24 hours of notification to the operator/applicant.
F.Â
Heavy truck traffic accessing the site will be limited to the hours
between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., including weekends.
G.Â
In the event new regulations are implemented by the Township, Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection, United States Environmental
Protection Agency, or any other administrative body regarding air,
water or noise, the operator/applicant shall comply with all new provisions,
waives any rights that they may be deemed grandfathered in, and will
use all means necessary to implement complete compliance with all
new regulations.
H.Â
Operator/applicant shall provide training of Elizabeth Township First
Responders and site orientation prior to the issuance of certificate
of occupancy, temporary or permanent. Training shall be at the sole
cost and expense of the operator/applicant.
(1)Â
In the event an emergency including but not limited to: product
loss (liquid, gaseous or solid) regardless of quantity, equipment
malfunction, fire, or explosion, incident resulting in injury, fatalities,
property damage, or any other significant incident, the operator/applicant
shall immediately notify Allegheny County 911 Center and copies of
reports shall be provided to the Township within 48 hours following
such incident. The applicant shall provide warning/site identification
signs posted at the entrance to the site which shall include the following:
I.Â
Operator/applicant shall meet with the Township officials by way
of an advertised public hearing every three years to discuss community
impacts.
J.Â
In the event new legislation is enacted at the federal, state, county
or local level that reduces current levels of protections, the operator/applicant
shall continue to comply with current applicable regulations and protections
that are in place at the time of the approval of the conditional use
application.
K.Â
Operator/applicant and/or its contractors shall, as part of the conditional
use, furnish to the Township a certificate of liability insurance
of a company licensed within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania naming
the Township as an additional insured and showing liability insurance
coverage covering commercial, personal injury, and general liability
in the amounts not less than $5,000,000 per person, $5,000,000 per
occurrence, and $5,000,000 property damage. Operator/applicant shall
fully defend, protect, indemnify, and hold harmless the Township,
its departments, agents, officers, employees, or volunteers from and
against such and every claim, related to any and all activates in
the Township by applicant or its subsidiaries. Insurance carrier shall
name the Township as "certificate holder."
The design standards contained herein are in addition to those outlined in the Township's code at Chapters 10, 22, and 27, as amended.
A.Â
Site access: Beginning with its intersection with a public street,
any ingress or egress point for the development or facility shall
be paved for the first 50 feet and improved with limestone or other
material for the next 100 feet in a manner to minimize the amount
of water, sediment, or debris that is carried onto any public street,
as more specifically prescribed below.
B.Â
Ingress and egress points for all public and private driveways or
roadways shall be located and improved in order to:
(1)Â
Meet Pennsylvania Code 67 Chapter 441 "Access to and occupancy
of Highways by Driveway and Local Roads," PENNDOT Design Manual 2.
C.Â
Access or driveway permits to state or Township roads:
(1)Â
All applicable permits or approvals must be obtained, including
without limitation access or driveway permits to state or Township
roads.
E.Â
Spill Containment:
(1)Â
If a spill, fire, or other violation of any federal, state or
local law occurs at the drill site or in the Township by operator
or its subcontractors, operator shall notify the Township immediately,
in all circumstances, no later than 24 hours after the incident occurred
or, if the incident is ongoing, no later than 24 hours after it began.
F.Â
Site Safety and Security:
(1)Â
Video surveillance monitoring equipment shall be installed at
the site for security purposes.
(2)Â
Operator/applicant shall provide training of Elizabeth Township
First Responders and site orientation prior to the issuance of certificate
of occupancy, temporary or permanent. Training shall be at the sole
cost and expense of the operator/applicant.
(3)Â
In the event an emergency including, but not limited to, product
loss (liquid, gaseous or solid) regardless of quantity, equipment
malfunction, fire, or explosion, incident resulting in injury, fatalities,
property damage, or any other significant incident, the operator/applicant
shall immediately notify Allegheny County 911 Center, and copies of
such incident reports shall be furnished to the Township.
(4)Â
Site lighting shall be turned off at night other than emergency
lighting and/or lights which will be activated by motion detectors.
(5)Â
If Elizabeth Township reasonably believes the citizens of Elizabeth
Township would be subjected to harmful byproducts from the proposed
compressor station which may place residents in immediate danger,
the Board of Commissioners reserve the right to immediately request
that the operator/applicant cease operation until the situation is
remedied to Township's satisfaction.
A.Â
Application fee in the amount of $2,500 shall be paid by the operator/applicant
for the purposes of payment for expenses incurred or to be incurred
by the Township for administration of the application. Fees may be
adjusted by the Township Board of Commissioners from time to time
by resolution. To the extent that the same is not otherwise included
or provided, copies of applications for permits from the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania or other governmental units related to the proposed
natural gas compressor station shall be submitted to the Township
at the time the application for conditional use is submitted to the
Township.
B.Â
Applications filed for conditional use shall be in accordance with
Township Code of Ordinances, as amended. The operator/applicant of
a filed application shall submit a preparedness, prevention, and contingency
("PPC") plan at time of filing such application.
Any operator or person performing work at their direction who
violates or permits a violation of this article shall, upon being
found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of
not more than $1,000 per each day the violation exists. No judgment
shall be imposed until the date of the determination of the violation
by the Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor
timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment
pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation
exists shall constitute a separate offense. Further, the appropriate
officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized to issue
a cease-and-desist notice and/or to seek equitable relief, including
injunction, to enforce compliance herewith. No bond will be required
if injunctive relief is sought by the Township.
