In Ohio, who owns the mineral rights (for natural gas and oil development) underneath bodies of water like lakes and rivers? And who owns the mineral rights underneath public roads?
Both are very good questions that are answered in a pair of posts by the lawyers at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur on their Oil & Gas Law Report…
Read More “Who Owns the Mineral Rights Under Lakes and Roads in Ohio?”
Engineering firm RETTEW, a firm that does a lot of work in the Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling industry, has just received an award for their work on a Chesapeake Energy project to reconstruct more than 400 miles of rural roads in Pennsylvania at no cost to the public while reducing waste by nearly 100 percent. A hearty congratulations to RETTEW for their innovative approach, and to Chesapeake for their proactive program to preserve rural roads in active drilling areas.
From the press announcement:
Read More “Engineering Firm Receives Award for Road Project in Marcellus”
Ohio Congressman Bill Johnson (Republican, 6th District) visited Jefferson County, OH last Thursday to get an update on the impacts on area roadways from truck traffic related to Utica Shale drilling. Thousands of truck trips over rural roads take their toll.
So what did Congressman Johnson find? The roads are now in better shape than they were before drilling began:
Read More “OH Congressman “Tickled” by Road Improvements from Shale Drillers”
Some counties in Upstate New York are prepared for potential road damage caused by trucks and heavy equipment when and if shale gas drilling begins. Some of those counties are a lot more welcoming of drillers than others.
Steuben County in New York’s Southern Tier area—one of the five named counties likely to receive permits when drilling begins—is one of the counties ready with a road-use agreement for drillers. Interestingly, Vince Spagnoletti, Public Works Commissioner for Steuben County, says the road use agreement in Steuben originated not because of potential gas drilling but because of potential wind farm development:
Read More “Two Views on Road Use Agreements for Drillers in NY”
Devon Energy has signed an iron-clad agreement with Wayne County, Ohio to repair any damage caused by heavy trucks to roadways and bridges in the county from their drilling activities. A meeting on Tuesday night in Fredericksburg, OH was standing-room only as officials and local residents assembled to hear about the agreement.
Read More “Devon Signs Road Repair Agreement with Wayne County, OH”
One of the more interesting stories (to MDN anyway) over the past several years has been that of how short line railroads are seeing a comeback because of shale gas drilling. Perhaps it’s the romanticism of a bygone era that appeals. Some of the uses for old short line railroad beds have been innovative—things like “dual use” corridors where rail trails and pipelines have been run together.
But there’s a very new and interesting twist on this story MDN has just noticed. In at least one Ohio location, an energy company wants to lease an abandoned rail line, but not for pipelines and not to run trains on it…
Read More “Ohio Driller Eyes Abandoned Railroad for Innovative Use”
Pennsylvania’s rural roads are seeing upgrades because of gas drilling activity. When drilling comes to a municipality or county, and with it an increase in truck traffic, drillers step up to the plate and repair the roads that they use. Most of the time roads are left in better shape than before drilling began.
West Virginia is now starting to see the same improvements with their roads:
Read More “WV Road Improvements Paid for by Shale Gas Drillers”
Caiman Energy has found a novel way of moving large steel utility poles (electric poles) that it needs to install to bring in more power to a natural gas processing plant located at Fort Beeler near Cameron (Marshall County), WV. To address concerns over truck traffic and damage to roads, Caiman is using helicopters to shuttle the utility poles.
Read More “Energy Company Takes to the Sky to Move Utility Poles”
When drilling is concentrated in one area, some problems are bound to crop up.
The drilling industry in Pennsylvania is working hard to ensure roadways are maintained and in good condition, and according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), it shows.
Once again New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens has delayed the start of Marcellus gas drilling—this time by at least an additional 30 days, maybe longer. The “nearly” final draft drilling regulations, called the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), were released on July 8 (originally supposed to be released July 1 as ordered by Gov. Andrew Cuomo). At that time, Mr. Martens said there would be a 60-day public comment period that would begin in August. Then the DEC would review those comments, tweak the regulations, and issue the final regulations sometime late this year.
The 60-day public comment period will now not begin until “late summer,” which in DEC-speak means September. Why?
A leaked internal document from the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) expresses concern that the state is not ready for a dramatic increase in heavy truck traffic that will occur when Marcellus Shale drilling begins in the state. The document, titled “DRAFT Discussion Paper: Transportation Impacts of Potential Marcellus Shale Gas Development,” was leaked to the anti-drilling organization Chenango, Delaware and Otsego Gas Drilling Opposition Group. The group’s spokesman, Mike Bernhard, declines to say how the group obtained the document. As the document is now being circulated by media sources, MDN is embedding a full copy below.
This strong language in the opening Executive Summary of the Discussion Paper:
Yet another study from Cornell University about the effects of shale gas drilling. The Appalacian Regional Commission awarded a $7,000 grant to Cornell doctoral student Andrew Rumbach to write a term paper author a study on the potential impact of drilling on the tourism industry in the Southern Tier of New York—specifically in the Finger Lakes region of the state. The “study” predictably warns about heavy truck traffic, scenic destruction and the “industrialization” of our little piece of paradise. One of the the biggest threats? Our tourism “brand” will be tarnished.
New weight restrictions for trucks on roads in Warren County, PA aimed at making Marcellus Shale drillers pay are having unintended consequences for other trucking operators in the county.
Road damage from truck traffic to Marcellus Shale drilling sites has overwhelmed the West Virginia Department of Highways (DOH) ability to respond, according to one DOH official.
Read More “Road Damage from Gas Drilling in WV Overwhelms Highway Department”
In a press release issued yesterday, Chesapeake Energy announced it is working on 14 different roadway repair projects in Bradford and Sullivan Counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania due to be completed this summer.
Read More “Chesapeake Energy Repairing 14 Roadways in Northeastern PA This Summer”