Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/03/2016

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E t G; i? Two areas of local regulation that have ity approved a set of rules regarding setbacks, seen significant developments and debate which included requiring Soo feet between recently are discussed further below:setbacks gas wells and homes,hospitals,schools, and the regulation of water usage. and drinking water welts.Shortersetbacksof only loo feet were provided for streams and Setbacks:Still a Powerful Toot in the Toolbox? public roads.Environmentalists protested While municipal setbacks typically apply to and demanded 650-foot setbacks for homes, separating gas wells from sensitive uses like hospitals,schools,and drinking water welts day cares and residences,state setbacks and Zoo-foot setbacks for streams and public commonly apply to protect water resources. roads(Rivin 2014).The MEC ultimately agreed For example,in Pennsylvania,wastewater to revise the recommended setbacks,but can be discharged into a pit only if the pit is commissioners admitted that these distances more than 200 feet from a water supply or loo were not based on science.The MEC had feet from a stream,body of water,or wetland, studied setbacks in place in the 33 states that unless a waiver is obtained(25 Pennsylvania regulate oil and gas development and found Code§78.6o(b)(7)).Collier Township,Pennsyl- a lack of scientific justification for setbacks, vania,has prohibited gas drilling within 300 but noted that North Carolina was in the upper feet of the property line,or within 1,000 feet range of setbacks in this regard(Camp 2015). of a school or day care center without consent The final rules provide a 650-foot setback for (or within 300 feet of these uses with consent) occupied dwellings,high-occupancy build- (§27-1906.34.D), ings,and public or private water welts in- Illinois's Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory tended for human consumption or household Act prohibits locating a gas well within 500 purpose;a zoo-foot setback for"a perennial feet of a water well;within 300 feet of a peren- stream,river,watercourse,pond,lake,or nial stream,river,lake,pond,or reservoir;or other natural and artificial bodies of water, within 1,500 feet of a surface water or ground- including wetlands and trout stream';and water intake of a public water supply(Illinois loo-foot setbacks for public roads,highways, 3 Public Act 098-0022§1-25(3),(4),(6)). utility or railroad track rights-of-way,or other Setbacks are important tools for protect- rights-of-way,and for intermittent streams ing sensitive uses and natural resources from (15A North Carolina Administrative Code potential impacts from natural gas activi- §05H.16o1). ties.However,it is challenging to know what Although setbacks continue to be regu- ® distance of setback is enough.From Texas to larly used as a tool to regulate impacts from North Carolina,battles are being fought over fracking activities,there remains substantial the appropriate size of buffer zones between debate over this common tool. well sites and other uses. The lingering questions include how ' In January 2014,the North Carolina Min- much distance is appropriate,whetherthe Ing and Energy Commission(MEC)pretiminar- distances are or can be based on science, and whether a setback that is too large is a de facto ban and therefore impermissible,de- pending on the jurisdiction. I I, How to Regulate Water Usage? One area seeing greater creativity and prog- ress in the regulation of fracking activities — has to do with water usage and recycling. Given the two to five million gallons of water used to frack a horizontal shale gas well and __ -r extract gas,the natural gas industry's expan- T L sion throughout the United States has raised water supply concerns(API 2010).While this amount of water might not be a large percent- age of overall water uses for a given state or region,this can be an enormous amount for p o °° a e ° •a a certain arid communities,particularly in times of drought. ZONINGPRACTICE io.A AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION lPage4 '..