About 25 Salem Township residents packed a supervisors meeting Wednesday night to demand local rules on a proposed natural-gas well off Forbes Road, only to be told by township officials that Pennsylvania, not the municipality, controls drilling regulations. The well, proposed by JKLM Energy on land owned by Tom and Toni Ridella, would tap into a pool of mineral rights spanning roughly 1,000 acres across Salem and neighboring Hempfield Township.
Residents Push Back on a Well Near Their Homes
JKLM Energy LLC has applied for a permit to drill on the Ridellas' Forbes Road property, according to TribLIVE, which reported that the Sewickley-based company holds mineral rights across Salem Township and the adjoining Hempfield area. A separate account from community.triblive.com describes the parcel as 61 acres, while noting the Ridellas leased about 56 acres to JKLM — a discrepancy in the record that has not been resolved. That same account also describes the methane pool the well would draw from as covering 1,057 acres, a somewhat larger figure than the roughly 1,000 acres cited in other reporting on the project.
Leah Boni told supervisors the planned well threatens residents' health and the environment, warning that gas wells can emit toxic chemicals and bring heavy industrial truck traffic through the area. She also said toxic wastewater releases have occurred at gas wells elsewhere, adding to a chorus of concern from neighbors who say they were caught off guard by how close the project could land to their homes.
Officials Say State Law Ties Their Hands
Supervisor Kerry Jobe told the crowd that Pennsylvania, not individual municipalities, sets the rules governing the oil and gas industry, and he said Salem Township has coexisted with wells for 20 years without local drilling ordinances. He added he was not interested in forming a committee to study the issue because the township simply lacks regulatory authority over drilling. Salem Township has no zoning rules limiting where drilling can occur, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the township's own attempt to regulate oil and gas drilling more than two decades ago, according to TribLIVE's reporting.
That history tracks with a broader legal fight that reached the state's highest court a decade ago. In the landmark 2016 Robinson Township decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that municipalities may regulate environmental impacts, setback distances and the siting of oil and gas wells through local ordinances, but only when those rules do not conflict with valid provisions of the state's Act 13, according to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The court in that case described Act 13 as an attempt to create what it called a singular statewide zoning and permitting process for all oil and gas wells, and it struck down several provisions of the law as unconstitutional, enjoining their enforcement, per the court's opinion reproduced by CourtListener.
Pennsylvania's statute books still reflect that tension. Title 58 of state law contains an entire chapter devoted to local ordinances relating to oil and gas operations, including a section titled Uniformity of local ordinances, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The same statute identifies the Department of Environmental Protection as the primary state agency overseeing oil and gas regulation and permitting.
Mine Subsidence and Safety Worries
Pat Crawford raised a specific technical concern at the meeting: that fracturing shale in an area previously undermined for coal could cause mine subsidence capable of damaging homes above. Drillers may bore to depths of about 8,000 feet, while old mines in the area may extend only to roughly 350 feet underground, with drillers fracturing shale using high-pressure fluids well below those old workings, per TribLIVE's reporting.
Tammy Tucker suggested the township consider ordinances addressing safety, noise pollution and light pollution tied to the drilling operation, and she said she personally found the view of the planned well upsetting. Tom Ridella responded that residents of the nearby Totteridge housing development likely would see, at most, the top of the drill rig once autumn leaves fall, noting that Totteridge does not actually border the property line shared with his farm.
Permit Still Under State Review
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which reviews and monitors gas well permit applications statewide, was still reviewing JKLM's application as of the community.triblive.com report, which also noted that DEP issued JKLM a separate permit in May covering potential impacts the well pad might have on Crabtree Creek, including earth-disturbance work tied to erosion and sediment control. Not every resident at the meeting voiced opposition. Forbes Road neighbor Terry Stone told the outlet he was not bothered by a well going in behind his home, saying plainly, “It does not bother me. It's Tom (Ridella) property. I have no say.”
The Ridellas signed an agreement with JKLM Energy on Oct. 1 acknowledging that the company has leased oil and natural-gas rights from about 64 mineral-rights owners in the area, according to community.triblive.com. Despite the pushback from residents, Salem Township officials said they will request a meeting with DEP officials to discuss the project, even as they maintain the township itself has no legal lever to block or reshape the drilling plan.
