Press Release: Cecil residents score a huge win: Increased setbacks for new well pads!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 4, 2024
Media Contact: Lisa DePaoli, lisa@centerforcoalfieldjustice.org, 412-229-7116  

Cecil residents score a huge win: Increased setbacks for new well pads!

Board of Supervisors applauded for prioritizing community’s health and well-being

CECIL TOWNSHIP, PA – Tonight, after several hearings and years of community members’ working together and publicly raising their concerns, Cecil Township residents scored a huge victory:  A revision to their zoning ordinance requiring a 2,500-foot setback for new well pads from homes and businesses, and a 5,000-foot setback from hospitals and schools. 

Many residents’ pleas to the Board of Supervisors for increased setback distances have been based on their negative experiences of living near well pads and or the growing list of peer-reviewed research linking poor health outcomes to people living in close proximity to fracking. That public engagement has been crucial. 

Sarah Martik, Executive Director of the Center for Coalfield Justice, a Cecil resident, said “This is a victory 15 years in the making. It really shows what people who work together and persist can accomplish. Despite industry’s threats and intimidation, the board of supervisors made clear that the people, not the mega corporations, who call Cecil Township home are their first priority. We hope this sets an example for other communities to follow.” 

CCJ members and staff have been working with a coalition of residents and local businesses to support sensible increases in setbacks and monitoring, aiming to safeguard community health, safety, and welfare. 

Janice Blanock, a Cecil resident who lost her son Luke to Ewing sarcoma, said “I would like to thank the Cecil Township Supervisors for doing what’s right to protect the residents. For the ones who abstained, we will remember that! It’s been a long, tough road. I have attended and spoke at all of the hearings and I feel very proud to say I live in Cecil. This victory gives me hope for the future and honors my son’s memory.”

This is not a ban on drilling in Cecil Township. There are five existing well pads that will be grandfathered in and that cover more than 60% of the township. In addition, land owners who want to waive the 2,500 foot setback and have drilling on their property can do so, as long as everyone within that buffer zone agrees.   

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