Fate of Hyner View State Park Vista Remains Unresolved
CHAPMAN TOWNSHIP -- Interest in what some are calling “The Battle of Hyner Mountain,” continues to draw local, state-wide and even international interests to enter the fray. What began as a Chapman Township Zoning Board Hearing could become a classic case of “unintended consequences.” In play are issues involving capitalism, corporate giants, property rights and Pennsylvania’s historic natural resource heritage. County interests, state courts, local ordinances and even Constitutional law are also involved.
On Thursday, the 18th of February, an over-flow crowd heard the first shots of “the Battle of Hyner Mountain” fired by all parties with a direct interest in the outcome of this struggle. Unlike many other such gatherings, this one was conducted in a calm and reasoned atmosphere. The meeting was a tribute to the democratic process, and it appears that the final outcome of that process could have far reaching consequences none of the parties may have anticipated. It is shaping up as a textbook example of the bedrock of America’s democratic process, The Town Meeting.
Currently all parties are in Limbo as each develops their respective strategies to be unleashed at the second hearing of the Chapman Township Zoning Board where the board must wrestle with the question of granting a Special Exception to an existing zoning-ordinance that currently prevents Anadarko Petroleum, Inc. from proceeding with the water withdrawal facility.
The second and final hearing to be scheduled in the near future should prove quite interesting Indeed, it is not impossible that the final outcome of this battle could result in another variation of that historic “Shot heard around the world,” in Lexington Square. Only this time the shot could echo across all of Pennsylvania, and set a historical precedent concerning the entire future of the Marcellus Shale development now underway in our state, and heading into our state forest system at a very rapid, and some say, very dangerous speed.
It is now well know that the Western Clinton Sportsmen’s Association, fulfilling its historical role as the environmental “watchdog” for this neck of the woods, as well as the Mission Statement in the organization’s by-laws was required to fire the first shot across the bow. Now those in opposition to granting the Special Exception it must convince all concerned that its cause is just and motivated by nothing less than seeking a fair and equitable resolution of the current conflict of interests. It is hopeful that it can do just that.
