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  • From: Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Moral dilemma
  • Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:00:05 -0400


Bunjov AT aol.com wrote:

> All sorts of things could go wrong, with your soil, with your groundwater,
> etc. Never mind their promises to 'fix it'. It would never be the same.
> That
> particular little piece of the Earth called to you for a reason, and you
> would
> be betraying that trust.

That's what really worries me; long term damage to land and water I want
to protect. IF everything goes right, the damage would be minimal, but
there's always the chance that everything could go wrong. Any place they
drilled would probably not affect my well water (and they do go to great
lengths not to pollute ground water), but there is a nice little stream
that I wouldn't want to see damaged.

My neighbor said that 2 wells were being drilled in this area and I went
out to look. To my great relief, gas wells aren't like oil wells. Once
they are done, the part that sticks up isn't much bigger than the
wellhead for my water well. They don't pump; the gas is under pressure
and flows on it's own. The pipelines are buried, so all you see at the
site is the wellhead. There are tanks and meters and things, and I'm not
sure where they are located; maybe next to the road (I have a 'pulloff'
along the road that would be the perfect place for stuff like that).

The drilling/staging takes about a month and makes a total mess of 1-2
acres, which is leveled, with access roads, and tons of stone brought in
to keep mud etc down. There is a lined containment pond and large, heavy
machinery runs over the site continuously. Part of the contract requires
them to remove the contaminated water (DEP is on the site to see that
it's done right), regrade, and replant. The sites I saw were still in
the drilling stage, so I don't know how good the 'cleanup' is (I would
probably sign with the same company doing these). Do they remove all
that stone they brought in or just smooth the dirt over it? Does it
matter in a pasture?

If they DO clean up properly, my land would look pretty much as it does
now. If they drill up in my woods (much harder logistically) they would
clear an acre or two of trees, but would return it as pasture. I think I
could live with that. Having a good access road up into the woods (that
I didn't have to pay for) would be nice, too. And of course, they may
never decide to put a well here; I still get $96,600 every 5 years for
as long as they want to lease.

The way my finances are going, it may come down to leasing the mineral
rights or sell the farm (to someone who would not hesitate to lease the
rights).

Lynn Wigglesworth
Tioga County, PA


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