(A) The applicant shall identify the entry lane for any drilling rigs and present a traffic management plan that will minimize congestion and ensure safety for borough residents. All entry lanes shall be on a state road. Accepted professional standards pertaining to minimum traffic sight distances for all street or road access points shall be adhered to.
(B) Drilling rigs are exempted from height requirements of the zoning district, provided that a period of drilling does not exceed six continuous months in any nine-month period. It is the responsibility of the developer to inform the borough when drilling rigs are emplaced upon the site to determine the period of exemption. Drilling rigs shall be located a minimum setback distance of one and one-half times their height from any property line, public or private street, or building not related to the drilling operations on either the same lot or an adjacent lot.
(C) The drilling pad for the oil or gas well site shall comply with all setback and buffer requirements of the zoning district in which the oil or gas well site is located.
(D) When drilling is being conducted with 500 feet of a dwelling in separate ownership from the property upon which the drilling proposed, the developer shall mitigate light and noise through the following standards.
(1) Lighting at the oil or gas well drilling site, or other facilities associated with oil and gas drilling development, either temporary or permanent, shall be directed downward and inward toward the activity, to the extent practicable, so as to minimize the glare on public roads and nearby buildings.
(2) Prior to drilling of an oil or gas well the applicant shall establish by generally accepted testing procedures, the continuous 75-hour ambient noise level at the nearest property line of a residence or public building, school, medical, emergency or other public facility, or 100 feet from the nearest residence or public building, medical, emergency or other public facilities, whichever point is closer to the affected residence or public building, school medical, emergency or other public facility. In lieu of the establishment of the ambient noise level established by the continuous 75-hour test the applicant may assume and use, for the purpose of compliance with this chapter, a default ambient noise level of 55 dBA. The sound level meter used in conducting any evaluation shall meet the American National Standard Institute’s standard for sound meters or an instrument and the associated recording and analyzing equipment, which will provide equivalent data. The noise generated during the oil and gas operations not exceed the average ambient noise level established by more than ten decibels.
(3) Effective sound mitigation devices shall be installed to permanent facilities to address sound levels that would otherwise exceed the noise level standards when located near a residence, public building, school, medical, emergency or other public facilities.
(E) Areas of active drilling shall be secured by a fence or other means to restrict access. Warning signs shall be placed on the fencing or surrounding the oil or gas well site providing notice of the potential dangers and the contact information in case of an emergency. Emergency responders shall be given means to access oil or gas well site in case of an emergency. The borough may require the installation of landscaping or some form of vegetative screening or buffer as a reasonable additional condition and safeguard within six months of the initiation of drilling.
(F) Additional regulations for temporary housing; if mobile homes are proposed as temporary worker housing during oil and gas drilling, the following standards shall be met.
(1) The number of mobile homes proposed shall be clearly identified and their location approved by the borough.
(2) Mobile homes for temporary housing shall be emplaced on a site for a period of no greater than six months.
(3) All mobile homes shall be removed within 30 days of completion of drilling.
(4) No temporary mobile home shall be placed within 200 feet of a property line.
(G) The applicant shall show compliance with all applicable state and/or federal regulations, including setbacks from streams and public water supplies. Specifically, all needed permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and copies of approved erosion and sedimentation control plans shall be presented to the borough.
(H) The applicant shall agree that if materials from trucks are spilled upon a public street, all such materials shall be removed immediately.
(1980 Code, Ch. 28, Part 4, § 28-438) (Ord. 1419, passed 9-16-2013, § 438) Penalty, see § 156.999