From this point forward, anyone who wishes to drill a new well in West Penn Township will have to get a permit from township officials.

That’s after the township’s board of supervisors on a 2-1 vote Monday morning adopted a water well ordinance. Supervisor Ted Bogosh was opposed.

Bogosh said he was opposed to the ordinance because it will result in an expense for the township, as well as homeowners.

“I think in the future, this is going to cost us a lot because of the way it is written,” Bogosh said.

After the meeting, board solicitor Holly Heintzelman said that since it is a new ordinance, anyone wishing to drill a new well will have to come in to the township and get a permit.

Heintzelman said there is a fee for the permit, which will be established by supervisors, as well as some minimal administrative costs to the township for the well permit program.

The sentence, “In the event the Sewage Enforcement Officer determines that the well is agricultural and therefore regulated by the Department of Environmental Resources and/or the Department of Agriculture, no further action is required under the within ordinance” was added to a section of the ordinance titled Application For and Issuance or Denial of a Permit.

Last month, supervisors agreed to form the West Penn Township Water Resource and Planning Steering Committee to refresh its water extraction ordinance at the suggestion of Supervisor Tony Prudenti.

He noted that water extraction has been a major issue, and he wants to update the township’s ordinance.

Prudenti has said on multiple occasions that the township has to look at protecting residents’ wells, eliminating truck traffic and saving roads.