SALEM, Ohio — Most of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale impact fee legislation is now official, but a state appellate judge blocked part of it with an injunction April 11. The final bill is dubbed Act 13. The legislation went into effect April 16 and requires well drillers to pay fees based on the number of Marcellus [...]

Editor: It seems everywhere you go you hear or see something about the oil and gas phenomenon that is occurring in and around Columbiana County. Testimonies of property owners getting checks well into the six- and seven-digit mark are plentiful. Overnight millionaires make Jed Clampett and the Beverly Hillbillies seem like a modern day reality [...]

••• As of the afternoon of April 11, Attorney John Smith who is representing some of the townships that filed the lawsuit, an injunction was granted by the judge in this case. The injunction only pertains to the zoning portion of the Marcellus shale impact fee. The rest of the legislation is still set to [...]

SALEM, Ohio — Carroll County leads the pack with the number of permits issued in March for drilling Utica shale wells in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Of the 175 drilling permits issued statewide in the Utica Shale since January 2011, 60 have been issued to Carroll County sites. Carroll County [...]

Shale signs: What to know when you’re contacted to sign an easement agreement with a company granting the right to have a pipeline constructed on part of your land.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Economic booms are ahead for the Utica and Marcellus shale areas, but patience is needed for it to happen. Kristen Holmquist, the manager for natural gas liquids for Bentek Energy, spoke March 20 at the Hart Energy’s 2012 Marcellus Midstream conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. Fracking Holmquist told the crowd there are 1,000 [...]

More business for the lawyers: The best thing anyone contemplating a pipeline easement can do is secure an attorney who knows property law and the gas industry.

CARROLLTON, Ohio — Besides the legal ramifications of signing a pipeline easement agreement, Carroll County Soil and Water Conservation District technician Ray Rummel said there are some environmental concerns to remember as well. Keep in mind Rummel said he wants to remind landowners that an easement goes on the deed and is forever. “You only [...]

Landowners across Ohio may be surprised to learn the bonus lease and royalty dollars received for their Marcellus or Utica Shale leases will be subject to the Ohio commercial activity tax (CAT) if payments of over $150,000 are received.

Editor: I’m writing to address concerns about nonlandowners who don’t realize the consequences for them of the so-called “Shale Boom.” By now most, if not all, of them have heard repeatedly about how dangerous chemicals used in hydraulic fracture drilling can get into aquifers and, then, into drinking water. They have also heard about other [...]