Airport drilling stirs noise complaints from neighbors
A constant drone from outside their Imperial Pointe home kept Laura D'Eramo's 8-year-old son awake well past his bedtime on his first day of school.
D'Eramo, 44, of Findlay at first thought the air-conditioning unit had a problem.
“That is when I got up to investigate and realized that the noise was coming from outside, towards the drilling well-pad site,” D'Eramo said. “Unacceptable.”
Since Consol Energy Inc. began natural gas drilling at Pittsburgh International Airport, residents in the nearby neighborhood have complained to a hotline about loud noises late at night and early in the morning. They intend to speak out on Wednesday at the Findlay Township Board of Supervisors meeting.
Cecil-based Consol, which started drilling in July at a well pad about 1,180 feet from the nearest home in Imperial Pointe, said it received about two dozen complaints.
“We have been in the field monitoring noise levels since drilling commenced and we believe we are well below the required ordinance level. We have also commissioned a third party contractor to monitor noise levels,” company spokeswoman Kate O'Donovan wrote in an email to the Tribune-Review.
Consol plans to drill 47 natural gas wells on airport property, a deal that could generate $500 million for the airport. A company representative will attend the meeting on Wednesday, O'Donovan said.
Recent noise complaints reported to the Consol-managed hotline include noise “so strong that it woke up the entire family” at 7 a.m. on Sunday. Another resident said a high-pitched noise “keeps disturbing his sleep.”
Findlay Manager Gary Klingman, who lives in Imperial Pointe, said the township doesn't know what caused the noise or if Consol violated the terms of its conditional use permit. He hears noises but isn't bothered.
“We have a landfill that operates overnight. We have an airport that is right next door. We have a highway, 376, that sometimes when the wind is blowing in a specific direction, it sounds like it's right on my desk,” Klingman said.
He said a nearby football field, racetrack and Allegheny County Police explosives range on airport property contribute to neighborhood noise. “It's people's tolerance. I think there is more sensitivity to the drilling.”
Klingman said the county police range, a source of loud booms for decades, sits between Interstate 376 and Imperial Pointe. The township has asked the airport to move the range.
County spokeswoman Amie Downs said the range is 1,200 feet from the nearest well pad and 3,600 feet from the nearest house, and the county isn't likely to relocate it.
Aaron Aupperlee is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7986 or aaupperlee@tribweb.com.
