Gas drilling booms mean more heavy equipment on rural roads, many not built to take the pounding

Much of the concern about the natural-gas drilling boom has been on possible pollution from wastewater, a factor over which local governments have little to no control. But rural regions preparing for increased gas drilling and production should pay attention to the effect of the industry's heavy equipment on rural roads, Sue Heavenrich writes for the Daily Yonder.

Jim Goldstein, town supervisor of Lebanon, N.Y., told Heavnerich the wear and tear on his community's roads from drilling-related traffic cost $550,000 in repairs since 2007. His efforts and hours of negotiations with the drilling company, Nornew Inc., has kept the taxpayers from footing the bill, Heavenrich reports. The negotiations weren't easy. "There was a period of four to five years when Nornew would not communicate with us," Goldstein told Heavenrich.

Goldstein eventually worked out a deal where Nornew is reponsible for repairing the roads at its own cost after drilling is finished, but he told Heavenrich the situation has still set the town back 15 years in respect to taxes and funding. "Local governments in New York have little jurisdiction over gas drilling," Heavenrich writes. "The one aspect of the drilling boom that the state’s towns can control is truck traffic on local roads." Hydraulic fracturing pumps water and chemicals into a well under extremely high pressure to fracture shale and release gas. (Read more)