MIDDLESEX TWP — Against the objection of Rex Energy, Mark West and township attorneys, the public will be able to talk at the next zoning board hearing about the township zoning amendment being challenged.

Zoning hearing board Chairman George Born announced at Tuesday night’s hearing at the fire hall that Middlesex residents at the March 17 hearing session will be allowed to speak for three minutes each regarding the amendment.

But zoning board solicitor Mike Gallagher stressed that the public’s comments will not be considered evidence, but simply statements, for the zoning board.

That hearing will be at 4:30 p.m. at the township fire hall.

The hearing, which has been at the township fire hall, is the result of a challenge to a gas and oil amendment to the township zoning ordinance passed in August by the supervisors.

Four township residents plus the Philadelphia-based environmental groups the Clean Air Council and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network are challenging the zoning amendment because it allows unconventional gas drilling operations in much of the township.

Attorneys from the township, Rex Energy and Mark West Energy Partners are supporting the amendment at the hearings.

The challenge caused a stoppage of the work on the five Rex Energy gas wells at the Bob and Kim Geyer farm on Denny Road, which a group of Mars School District parents have protested for a year because they say shale gas drilling would pose a health and safety hazard to the students in the nearby Mars schools.

The hearing’s seventh session Tuesday night began with the cross-examination of Mike Endler, Rex Energy’s vice president and Appalachian Regional manager.

Endler spoke at Monday night’s hearing, where he described the process, work and equipment typically used at a Rex well pad.

Aaron Jacobs-Smith, a staff attorney at the Clean Air Council, asked Endler if he realized that trucks generally make 6,790 trips to a well site.

Endler testified that the number seemed excessive, and he told Jacobs-Smith that a temporary water line would bring water for hydrofracturing to the Geyer well site.

“So the majority of water required will be significantly reduced as a result of the temporary water line,” Endler said.

Jacobs-Smith also questioned Endler about drill cuttings, which are the pieces of earth that are cut away as the drill proceeds down toward the Marcellus shale natural gas.

Endler said when they get back to the surface, the cuttings are separated from the fluid, placed in a container and taken to a landfill for disposal.

Jacobs-Smith asked why the contaminants are not dumped in an open pit. Endler responded that the state Department of Environmental Protection requires that they are placed in containers.

“I can’t speak to why the DEP has certain regulations, I just know there’s regulated containers that the cuttings go into and it is hauled to a DEP-approved landfill,” Endler said.

Jacobs-Smith said the proposed Geyer well will be 6,363 feet deep, and horizontal drilling will make a total of 9,701 feet of drilling there.

He then asked Endler questions about drilling and fracking, and Endler said he could not answer the questions without consulting Rex engineers.

When Rex attorneys then took their turn to ask Endler questions regarding unconventional gas drilling operation specifics, Smith objected because Endler claimed ignorance during much of his testimony during Smith’s questioning.

However, the questioning was allowed.

Rex attorney Kevin Barley called the challengers’ next witness, Julia Panko, who is a principal health scientist with Cardno Chemrisk.

Panko said her main job is to provide environmental health risk assessments for private industry, government, universities and public schools.

Through extensive questioning by Barley, Panko testified that the Geyer well would pose no health risk to those in the area.

She also called into question the studies used in the testimony of the challengers’ expert witness, David Carpenter, the director of the Institute for Health and Environment at the University of Albany.

Panko said the studies cited by Carpenter used flawed methodology.

The challengers’ attorneys are expected to cross-examine Panko at the March 31 hearing.