ADAMS TWP — The first Marcellus Shale natural gas well to be proposed in the township is planned for a rural area off Valencia Road.

Several Rex Energy representatives presented their plans Wednesday night for a well to the township planning commission. The commission members voted unanimously to recommend that the township supervisors approve the plan, but not before commissioner Martin McKinney implored the company to keep residents in mind.

“We want to minimize the impact to taxpayers,” McKinney said. “Please do the best you can to be good neighbors.”

According to Michael Endler, Rex Energy’s director of civil and environmental engineering, the plan is to place two gas wells on 2.7 acres on the West farm. The road to the well will be built on the east side of Valencia Road about 500 feet north of its intersection with Union Church Road.

Because of site distance issues and to avoid moving a large amount of earth, the proposed access road will snake between two residential properties. The first 50 feet of the access road will be paved.

Rex plans to install sound barrier walls on two sides of the well site. A tree buffer will be placed along the access road for the benefit of the nearby homeowners.

Trucks leaving the site will travel north on Valencia Road, then turn east onto Brownsdale Road to get to Route 8. No trucks will be permitted past the well site on Valencia Road.

Endler said Rex Energy will provide a preparedness document to police and firefighters, and give them a tour of the well to familiarize them with it in case of an emergency.

McKinney suggested the ambulance service be included, and encouraged Rex Energy to work with all first responders.

“This is new to our teams,” McKinney said. “I recommend you extend every opportunity to educate them.”

Endler said round-the-clock security will remain on-site during the drilling and hydrofracturing processes, and the site will be fenced in when not in use.

Planning commission member Marilyn Watson asked about truck traffic and lighting. Endler said most traffic would occur during the day. He said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires bright lights to be trained on the wells during drilling and fracking, but the lights will be turned toward the rig and away from adjoining properties.

Rex Energy officials presented their plans again at Thursday night’s public hearing before the supervisors.

About 30 residents who live adjacent to the West farm turned out to hear the presentation.

The West farm is in Adams, Middlesex and Forward townships, although the entire well and possible freshwater impoundment will be in Adams Township.

Jack Fasick of Adams Township said a Rex Energy employee stopped at his home to talk about a temporary, above-ground water line Rex wants to put through his property. The water would be used to fracture the shale bed deep underground and access the natural gas pocket beneath.

Kevin Colosimo, an attorney representing Rex Energy, objected to the question being answered because it was not within the purview of the hearing.

But Adams solicitor Mike Gallagher encouraged Rex engineers to answer the question.

Endler said above-ground water lines are used to avoid trucking water to the well site. He said the lines are temporary, and cause minimal impact to the landscape.

“Typically tree removal is not required,” Endler said. “We can snake the lines between the trees.”

Endler said Rex Energy is evaluating water providers who could pump the water through the temporary lines to the well site.

Adams resident Paul Feineigle asked whether dust control would be in place at the well site.

“We apply a dust-control agent to the access roads to mitigate dust,” Endler said.

Feineigle also asked how the gas would be removed from the well once it begins producing. Endler said Rex Energy has an agreement with a company that lays pipeline once it is needed.

Adams resident Gina Ellenberger expressed her concern about the contamination of water, but again Colosimo insisted the question was outside of the scope of the hearing. Endler said he would discuss the matter privately with Ellenberger.

After the meeting, Feineigle praised the job Rex Energy has done with the 70 wells it has drilled on 40 pads over the past three years in Butler and Lawrence counties.

“I think Rex is doing a fabulous job,” Feineigle said. “There’s lots of concern about wells, but if Rex does the job right, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

The supervisors will vote on Sept. 23 on the proposal.

There is no date as to when work would start at the well site.