What You Need To Know:

What You Can Do:
The Butler Township drilling ordinance was re-written in 2012 to allow drilling as a permitted use in all zoning districts, including residential.

On April 21, 2014, the Butler Township Commissioners approved a development plan for an XTO Energy well pad on property zoned R-1 (single-family residential) on Schaffner Road. 

The approved pad is:
  • Approximately 1,200 feet from the nearest home (which has not been leased)
  • 1,800 feet from the Highfield neighborhood
  • Less than .2 miles from Butler Township Park
  • Approximately .3 miles from Preston Park and Highfield Park
  • 1.2 miles from Butler Intermediate High School
  • 1.4 miles from Meridian Elementary School
The site will be accessed via Bessemer Avenue and Schaffner Road.


Rex Energy went before the township Planning Commission on September 2 seeking approval to construct a well pad and drill 9 wells on Krendale Golf Course. They have also applied for a permit from the DEP. The proposed well pad is:
  • Less than 550 feet from homes on North Eberhart and Evans City Roads
  • Less than 1,300 feet from Butler County Memorial Park Cemetery
  • Less than 1,400 feet from Home Depot
  • Less than 1,700 feet from the Lowrie Place Nursing Home 
  • Less than 2,300 feet from the Krendale Condos
  • .62 miles from the VA Hospital
  • .68 miles from the Benbrook Medical Centers
  • 1 mile from Northwest Elementary School
Rex plans to access the site via Route 68 near Eberhart Road.

A recent wellsite fire in Mercer County required evacuations for those within a one mile radius of the site.  One mile from the Krendale site includes Whitestown, Duffy, Benbrook and New Castle Roads.
Proposed Middlesex Twp. Well Violates Township Ordinances
Act 13 Attorney Jordan Yeager has sent a letter to Middlesex Twp. solicitor, explaining why the Rex Energy well violates township ordinances.  (Read letter here.) 
We have a similar situation here in Butler County.




Where Does Your Water Come From?
The Oneida Valley Reservoir serves as the municipal water source for over 35,000 people in Butler County, Pennsylvania.  

What is Happening:
  • EdgeMarc Energy recently started drilling six Marcellus Shale gas wells in Oakland Township one mile away from the Oneida Valley Reservoir.
  • The well pad, Draco, is .23 mile from a stream that drains into the Connoquenessing Creek, upstream of the water treatment plant on Route 38, which takes in water from the creek.
  • The state Department of Environmental Protection recently approved nine wells on the Ursa Minor well pad, which is about ½ mile from the Draco well pad and is also in the watershed for the reservoir.
  • The Ursa Major well pad, which has four wells, is in the 
  • watershed for the Boydstown Reservoir, a smaller reservoir upstream of the Oneida Valley Reservoir.
  • Several other properties have been leased, but not yet drilled, even closer to the water.
  • There is heavy, chemical-carrying truck traffic travelling on Route 38 daily.

Why is it Important?
It serves residents in:
  • Butler City
  • Butler Township
  • Center Township
  • Connoquenessing Township
  • Franklin Township
  • Summit Township
  • Penn Township
  • Evans City
  • There are numerous streams which empty either directly into the reservoir or upstream into the Connoquenessing Creek.

What You Can Do:
  • Call, email, or write to your elected officials, telling them to protect your water supply.
Attend township meetings and voice your opinions and concerns. 

The commissioners meetings are the first and third Monday of every month at 6:30 PM and the planning commission meetings are the first Tuesday of the month at 6:00 PM.  

Both are at the Butler Township Municipal Building, 290 South Duffy Road, Butler, PA 16001.

Sign up for email updates here.
For more information please see the county organization Marcellus Outreach Butler.
We're not gonna take it anymore!

Section 27 Alliance     -     P.O. Box 306, Lyndora, PA 16045