SHOULD I LEASE MY LAND FOR GAS DRILLING?
Important facts regarding gas drilling and the Regional Impact...

Gas drilling is a dangerous activity that uses pollutants such as benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, methane, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide, etc.. Gas released by the drilling is flared into the air, setting the first stage of health effects associated with production. These contaminants often leach into the soil or spill out of the storage pits contaminating both underground and surface water. Gas companies are not required to obtain air quality permits nor have emission controls. The exact amount and type of pollutants from drilling are not known. What is known is that high-pressure, deep “fracing” cannot be done with sand and water, as some companies and state agencies have claimed. And what is also known is that these chemicals and toxins, as proven by previous federal testing, can cause asthma, cancer, severe and permanent neurological damage, pulmonary reduction, coronary problems, endocrine disruption, which causes reproductive problems, and debilitating headaches.

Below please find answers, backed by facts and scientific research, to some frequently asked questions about gas drilling.

If I don’t sign a lease, can’t they drill under may land anyway from my neighbor’s land if they sign leases? Then they’ll be getting my gas and I won’t be getting up front payment or royalties?

In PA and NY, if you don't lease your land the energy companies cannot drill under your land. That would be trespassing. In the shale, the gas rarely flows freely. This is why it has to be "stimulated" directly, meaning through drilling and “fracing” an individual well on a leased property.

What’s the downside to signing a lease and making a lot of money up front, and lots more in royalties to come?

Search the internet and you will find hundreds of thousands of examples of gas companies cheating landowners by not paying royalties, not following the protections listed in signed leases, and not responding to the crises they cause. In addition, there are many, many cases in which the Department of Environmental Protection has been negligent in correcting water and soil contamination disasters that have occurred during drilling. And there is no record of their having coped with the profound air pollution that will be caused by the unregulated chemicals that are released into the air in the drilling process.

I’ve heard that it’s inevitable that the energy companies are coming in. If it’s inevitable that the drilling will start, why shouldn’t I sign and make some money?

First of all, gas drilling in our area is by no means inevitable (see below). Many residents are worried about scientifically documented land, water and air contamination from gas drilling.  Those concerns, together with the projected loss of real estate value, jobs, and tourism, etc. in our area have generated a wave of citizen resistance, and groups are challenging state and federal politicians and the regulatory agencies involved to be accountable to protecting our natural resources, jobs, health, and homes.

But even if the drilling does begin, be aware that signing gas drilling leases means that you will lose control over your land for 5 years minimum. And, if the companies find gas on your land at any time during those five years, you will lose control for the years or decades that they may continue to find gas on your land, disrupting your lives and land indefinitely.

Is it inevitable that the energy companies will be allowed to drill in our area? Have there been any successes, nationwide, in the environmental fight against gas drilling?

Yes! Many municipalities have been successful in stopping drilling. Seriously concerned citizens around the country have been working with urgency to prevent irreversible damage to their immediate environment, their health, and their homes. And the successes are mounting. See just a few examples below:

• Texas Citizens For A Safe Future and Clean Water took the fight against a foreign-owned oil and gas company’s effort to put a commercial injection well in NE Wise County all the way to the Third Court of Appeals in Travis County, Texas and recently won against the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates drilling permits.
• The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Mineral Resources has issued a "stay order" on behalf of Munroe Falls, Ohio, stopping any further action by Sonoco or D&L Energy. The ODNR had issued D & L a drilling permit but the city objected, citing possible contamination of the Cuyahoga River and of water wells.

• Haltom City, Texas staff has denied Chesapeake Energy a permit to drill a gas well in Haltom City. Haltom City wants to put some ball fields on the property, and Chesapeake hasn't been willing to consider other sites.

• A recent resolution passed by the Fernie City Council in British Columbia said the province should not issue leases that energy company BP would need to drill in British Columbia's Elk Valley. Its Elk River sends water into Montana's Lake Koocanusa.

• The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners has passed an emergency ordinance that temporarily suspends permits to drill for oil and natural gas within the Galisteo Basin due to concerns about “catastrophic impact on public health, safety economic, environmental, property rights, infrastructure”, etc.

Why can’t I sign a lease, get my money up front and then, if the conditions of drilling make it difficult or impossible for me to stay in my home or farm, go and live in another state while I collect my royalties? And if troubles arise, why can’t I just sell my property, and make more profit that way?

Aside from the fact that most companies lock their meters and do not allow landowners to keep accurate track of how much gas is being taken out in the drilling and how much in royalties is owed to landowners, there are other problems with this scenario. The leases you are being offered may indicate that you will be indemnified (protected) from lawsuits brought against you by neighboring landowners whose properties will be contaminated and devalued through drilling on your land, or who may get sick from the chemicals being used in the drilling process. Be aware that this is not legally true! Your neighbors or those downstream CAN sue you if you do lease.

So you could be facing a situation where you can no longer control the drilling on your land and you cannot sell your property because it is devalued by the drilling and/or threatened by a lawsuit. Also, if you are not on your land, you cannot keep track of what the companies are doing. There have been countless instances of gas companies not following lease agreements and putting wells and underground pipes where landowners did not want them. And there have been thousands of documented fires and explosions caused by gas drilling.

For example, in December of 2007, there was an explosion at the Pogue home on English Drive in Bainbridge Township in Geauga County, Ohio,  lifting the home off its foundation when Ohio Valley Energy Inc. unknowingly punctured a pool of natural methane gas several thousand feet below the ground. According to the local television station, WKYC, to date, 80 homes around the Ohio Valley Energy Inc. well are being tested for possible contaminated water.

But if I run into trouble with the lease I sign, won’t I be able to hold the gas companies accountable by taking them to court?

Most gas drilling leases require that you give up the right to sue the companies - they almost always insist on a mandatory arbitration arrangement. But even if you can sue, the energy companies are worth billions of dollars. Can you imagine how many lawyers they can afford to have working against you in court? In many cases, the energy companies have responded to leaser complaints by challenging them to sue. Although some beleaguered landowners around the country are having to resort to going to court against the energy companies, it is not a realistic option and can involve years of expense and anguish.

Will my homeowners insurance cover any problems? Can I increase my homeowners insurance to protect myself from mistakes made by the energy companies, which result in damage to my property or to my neighbor's property?

With very few exceptions, commercial and personal (homeowners or farm owners) insurance policies do not provide any meaningful coverage to the insured if they are sued alleging that they polluted someone else’s property or that such pollution caused bodily injury, sickness or death. Specialty insurers will write pollution coverage only after exhaustive fact-finding about an applicant’s business operations and will set an appropriate premium if they decide to take on the risk.

In addition, it is not known whether the well-drilling companies carry pollution coverage. Landowners who have leased their property to the drilling companies will have no coverage if 3^rd parties sue alleging damages caused by pollution. Landowners will have to hire a lawyer at their own expense and pay any damages assessed or settlements reached.

Won’t our communities benefit from the influx of workers and jobs?

The energy companies send in their own workers from out of the area, and they generally house them in trailers and temporary housing. But even if they did hire locally, gas drilling is a very dangerous job. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, oil and gas extraction workers suffer 7 times the fatalities of all other U.S. workers. And that does not include the very serious injuries that do not result in death. Yes, some local stores will see a rise in business, but they’ll also lose the business now provided by tourism. All businesses (and jobs) dependent on tourism and real estate will suffer.

If the energy companies are going to be blocked by local and national environmental groups and politicians, why shouldn’t I sign a lease now and get some money up front? Isn’t that a win/win situation – I get my money up front and the companies don’t drill?

"My daughter, who was two years old at the time of the hydraulic fracturing would vomit every night when she would get out of the bathtub upon going to bed..."
Thomas McKenzie, Repton, Alabama

Signing a lease because you think you can rely on citizen groups and legislators to block dangerous gas drilling is like playing Russian roulette. There is no guarantee that the resistance will work in our area, much as we have hopes that through citizen efforts both the government and local residents will respond ethically and responsibly to the threats posed by gas drilling.