CLEARFIELD – Lawrence Township Solicitor James Naddeo clarified the process for acquiring conditional use permits within the township at the Tuesday night meeting. The clarification was needed as there are nineteen gas wells seeking such permits working through the process.
To seek a conditional use permit an individual or group has to contact the code and zoning officer. The officer then passes it to the planning commission who can then vote to send it to the supervisors. The supervisors then call for a public hearing. After the hearing the supervisors can accept or reject the permit application. Rejection can lead to an appeals process.
Nineteen wells, seventeen of which are planned to be placed in state game lands, had proceeded further into their plans to drill than normal without first acquiring the needed permits. The process was begun after the fact and the public hearings for all of the wells are tentatively scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on July 19.
“It is hard to play cleanup, but it is good they’ve come back and tried to do it properly,” said Supervisor Glenn Johnston.
Naddeo warned the supervisors about the fine line between strict zoning and conditions against regulating the gas wells in the area. Pennsylvania has existing laws that govern most aspects of gas wells.
“I have a proposed ordinance that I think will work,” said Nadeo.
