Plans underway for new gas well pad in Upper Burrell

Plans for a new, unconventional natural gas well pad are underway for the Hephaestus well pad project on Merwin Road near the intersection of Whitten Hollow Road in Upper Burrell.

Civil & Environmental Consultants of Murrysville is currently working on the application to the state Department of Environmental Protection from Huntley & Huntley Energy Exploration.

“It’s very early in the process,” said Kimberly Price, communications director for Huntley & Huntley.

The energy company has secured private leases for the drilling operations but the path of the well will be determined as a later date, she said.

Price expects it will take a year to move through the DEP and township application processes.

The township doesn’t know many details about the well pad project, only that it recently received notification, according to Ross Walker, chair of the Board of Supervisors.

No residents have called with issues or questions at this point, according to Walker.

The project entails a gas well pad about 480 feet long by 330 feet wide. The driveway to the pad would be about 1,860 feet long, according to information sent to Upper Burrell supervisors.

If DEP approves the project, then the township would likely have its approval process as well, according to Melissa Cortileso, township secretary. The township would likely require a conditional use hearing and township supervisor approval, she said.