Council tables proposed oil and gas ordinance

Bill limits where drilling can occur

Monroeville Council voted unanimously Tuesday to table the municipality’s proposed oil and gas ordinance.

Mayor Nick Gresock called for a vote to table the motion at the start of the meeting.

“We discussed this at length (at a work session meeting) and we will be tabling this motion,” he said.

The ordinance was tabled by the Monroeville Planning Commission on Jan. 17. Council’s action means it will go back to the planning commission again this month. The matter could come before council again in March.

Last month, council voted to advertise a proposed oil and gas ordinance that would regulate operations, including compressor stations, well pads and impoundments and limit them to the S-1 Special Conservancy zoning district.

The S-1 district is located on about 150 acres in the southwest corner of Monroeville near a landfill.

Under state law, oil and gas activities must be permitted somewhere in the municipality.

Resident Georgiana Woodhall, who also sits on the planning commission, told council that workers from an oil and gas company were trespassing on her property. She has “no trespassing” signs on her land.

Ms. Woodhall said the police were called. However, Police Chief Doug Cole said the officers were not able to cite anyone because they were gone before officers arrived. Monroeville manager Tim Little said according

Ms. Woodhall said she to the settlement, residents was concerned that the people must be notified of trespassing were in violation any imminent seismic of the municipality’s testing. Simply placing settlement agreement with markers does not require Geokinetics. any notification, he said.

That agreement states In other business, the that Monroeville will allow municipality was set to seismic testing on roads take possession of its new within 50 feet of a structure public safety communication and requires notification of equipment this week. area residents about the testing. The $1.1 million equipment project will upgrade

Ms. Woodhall said she the communication system was never notified, and that from VHF to UHF. there are marking flags Councilman Ron Harvey near, but not on her property. said the first part of installing the new Motorola equipment is to set up the new consoles.

The second part will be to install satellite microwave antennas on towers at several sites in Monroeville, including at the Monroeville Mall.

Mr. Harvey said after those steps are completed, new mobile radios will be installed in all police cars and officers will be equipped with new portable radios.