Levin v. Board of Supervisors

669 A.2d 1063, 1995 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 594
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 28, 1995
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 669 A.2d 1063 (Levin v. Board of Supervisors) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Levin v. Board of Supervisors, 669 A.2d 1063, 1995 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 594 (Pa. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

KELLEY, Judge.

Before this court are consolidated cross-appeals by the State College Water Authority (Authority) and Eric J. Levin and Christine F. Levin (Levins), intervenors below, from the January 17,1995 order of the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County (trial court). The trial court found: (1) that there [1066]*1066was substantial evidence to support the grant of the Authority’s conditional use application by the Board of Supervisors of Benner Township (board); and (2) that six conditions challenged by the Authority which were imposed on the grant of the conditional use were reasonable conditions.

This is the second time that this court has heard appeals in this matter. This court previously reversed a February 8,1993 order of the trial court, which reversed the grant of the conditional use application by the board, and remanded this matter to the trial court to address the following issues:

1. Whether there is substantial evidence to support the grant of the conditional use application by the board to the Authority; and
2. Whether conditions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 14 imposed on the grant of the conditional use are reasonable conditions.

State College Water Authority v. Board of Supervisors of Benner Township, Centre County, 165 Pa.Cmwlth. 405, 645 A.2d 394, 400 (1994) (Benner I ).1

The within cross appeals require this court to restate the history of this case as substantially set forth by this court in Benner I. On May 10, 1990, the Authority filed an application for a conditional use of its property with the board. Reproduced Record (R.) at 6a. The proposed use of the lots, as set forth in the application, was:

[T]o erect service buildings for the pumping, treatment and distribution of well water. The water sources have currently been drilled, lined and capped.

Id. The lots are located in the Airport Commercial Zoning district (C-A District).

The board conducted several hearings spanning a period from September 4, 1990 through December 10, 1991. On December 17, 1991, the board filed its findings of fact, conclusions of law and decision. The board made the following relevant findings of fact.

2. The [Authority’s] water service area includes most of State College Borough, and parts of College, Harris, Ferguson and Patton Townships.
4. The average daily water demand of the [Authority’s] system is 4.53 million gpd....
7. [Authority] filed a request for approval of a conditional use on the lots. The proposed use of the lots is to operate a well pumping field to pump water from 3 wells drilled on the lots, to treat the water, and to pump it through pipes to be laid along Airport Road and Foxhill Road, to a connection with [Authority’s] presently existing water distribution system. The proposed use contemplates drilling for subterranean or percolating water which is to be pumped to the surface and piped away from the property to supply the public water system of the [Authority].
8. [Authority] has requested permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (“DER”) and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (“SRBC”) to pump up to 3 million gpd out of the wells.[2] The estimated top capacity of the wellfield is 4.6 million gpd.
12. It was testified by experts that the proposed pumping operation could possibly have an effect upon water wells located on other properties in the Township. Most occupied properties in the Township are supplied by on-site well water.
[1067]*106715. [Authority] offered and agreed that if any well within the recharge area (as defined in Paragraph 13 above), goes dry or is dewatered after operation of the well-field commences, it shall be presumed to go dry by reason of the operation of the wellfield and [Authority] shall immediately supply temporary water service within 48 hours and shall extend water mains and all necessary connections to the property at no cost to the property owner. The residents after connection shall pay standard water rates as customers of the [Authority].
19. The [Authority] intends to drill wells and pump water from the subterranean and percolating waters under the lands of [Authority], and to transfer the water away, off the lands, into the public water system of the [Authority] to be supplied to meet the water supply needs of the customers of the [Authority].

R. at 661a-66a.

The board, in its decision, imposed sixteen (16) conditions on the grant of the Authority’s conditional use. The Authority challenges the following six (6) imposed conditions.

1.Monitoring. [Authority] agrees to monitor all wells within one and one half (1/6) miles of the well site for any landowner who requests such monitoring. [Authority] shall advertise in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township its offer to install monitoring devices once each year for three successive years. [Authority] shall also send notice to every landowner within one and one half (RiO miles of the well site offering to install a monitoring device at the expense of [Authority]. Such monitoring devices shall be installed upon consent of the landowner for a period of 18 months, and shall be renewable as of right for successive periods at the request of the landowner. Any landowner within the one and one half (R¿) miles radius may request monitoring at any time. The Township and the property owner shall be supplied the results of the monitoring. All monitoring devices, installation costs, periodic monitoring, and reporting costs shall be at the expense of [Authority].
2. Reducing Draw. If the monitoring of wells pursuant to Condition # 1 above reveals a falling of the water table sufficient to adversely effect wells on neighboring lands (or the Benner Spring or other springs of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission in Centre County), then the [Authority] shall reduce the draw of water from the proposed wellfield so as to prevent or cease the adverse effect upon the wells and springs of residents or landowners and the springs of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission.
3. Well Failure Within One and One Half (1%) Miles from Well Site. If any landowner’s well within one and one-half (1%) miles of the well site fails because of the drop in water level, [Authority] shall provide temporary water service (water buffalo) within at least 48 hours of notice thereof at the cost of the [Authority]. [Authority] also agrees that, unless it can be clearly shown by [Authority] that the well did not go dry by reason of [Authority’s] well pumping operation, [Authority] shall extend lines from its well site to the property and connect to the residence or structure to be served, at the cost of [Authority], within three months or as soon as can reasonably be done. Said residents, after connection, shall pay standard water rates for water service.
4. Wells Beyond One and One-Half Miles from Well Site.

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Bluebook (online)
669 A.2d 1063, 1995 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 594, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/levin-v-board-of-supervisors-pacommwct-1995.