Council has unanimously voted to support a request that state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, made to the Senate for a yearlong moratorium on new Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania.

Murrysville Mayor Bob Brooks drafted a letter to the state Legislature, asking to protect the rights of residents of communities affected by the drilling.

"We need some time to figure out where we are at," he said. "We need to figure out who are the drillers that are legitimate and are reliable versus those that are wildcat in nature."

The mayor added that municipalities such as Murrysville must produce resolutions that will protect water resources, roads and real estate that would be affected when drilling begins - if it is permitted to take place within a municipality.

Councilman Dennis Pavlik added that he had major concerns regarding water quality that would result from the drilling process.

"I want to know how the waste water is being handled and treated," he said. "That is a major, major issue in my mind."

Mr. Brooks agreed

, saying: "When there are heavy rains, those retention ponds could overflow. That would be a major problem."

According to a news release from Mr. Ferlo, the moratorium would not only prevent drilling on state-owned land, but also prohibit the Department of Environmental Protection from issuing additional gas well drilling permits in the Marcellus Shale field.

Council President Joan Kearns and chief administrator Jim Morrison asid the Marcellus Shale task force had met four times since the spring to discuss ways the municipality can deal with the pending drilling.

"They have been very productive meetings," said Mr. Morrison. "We have been taking a look at other ordinances and resolutions from other municipalities. We want to see what could work for us or would not work for us."

Ms. Kearns added that the group had taken a look at areas in Murrysville that could be zoned to permit drilling.

"We hope to have something before the planning commission by the end of August," she said.

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