Right here is the DCNR's gift from God to solve the acidity issue. If they don't jump on the wagon and use this windfall money to improve the soil health they are nuts.
www.stargazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/NEWS01/807150333/1001/NEWSState wants share of Marcellus Shale boom by taking bids on more than 20,000 acres.
By Marc Levy • The Associated Press • July 15, 2008
HARRISBURG -- The state of Pennsylvania is seeking potential bidders for the natural gas drilling rights to more than 20,000 acres in the Tioga State Forest.
More than 74,000 acres, or more than 115 square miles, in three north-central Pennsylvania state forests, including the Tioga forest parcels, went up for bid Monday to natural gas companies that are in hot pursuit of the mostly untapped Marcellus Shale gas formation.
The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources posted legal notices on Monday announcing the lease sale. The department had said earlier this year that it would allow new drilling to resume following a five-year moratorium, a decision that pleased exploration companies and angered environmental groups.
"It's an opportunity to deal with one large landowner, rather than piecemeal, and that makes it attractive," said department spokeswoman Chris Novak.
Propelled by high natural gas prices, companies from Texas to Canada are scouring for drilling opportunities on private land that sits atop the Marcellus Shale formation, a deep gas reservoir located some 6,000 to 8,000 feet underground.
In some cases, company landmen have drawn accusations of using aggressive tactics to get property owners to sign lowball leases.
The formation is thought to contain large quantities of natural gas, with the best prospects in upstate New York, eastern Ohio and across much of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For decades, geologists and exploration companies have known about the gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale, but only recently have they developed a way to extract it.
More than 300 companies have expressed interest to the department in drilling on Pennsylvania's state forests, although state officials refused to release the list. All told, the department owns about 2.1 million acres of state forest.
Bids for the below-ground oil and gas rights on 18 tracts will be accepted until 2 p.m. on Sept. 3. To win, a bidder must submit the highest offer on the first year's land rental.
The 10-year lease also includes standard annual rental fees -- $20 an acre in years two through four and $35 an acre in years five through 10 -- and a standard 16 percent royalty collected by the state on natural gas production.
For each tract, state forestry officials will limit the number of well pads that are allowed, encourage the use of existing roads and prohibit surface work that could damage sensitive areas, waterways or recreational areas.
The tracts are in the Loyalsock, Tiadaghton and Tioga state forests in Tioga and Lycoming counties.
The Tioga State Forest is comprised of more than 160,000 acres. The more than 20,000 acres up for bid are:
•5,741 acres in Ward Township.
•3,598 acres in Bloss, Liberty and Hamilton townships.
•6,689 acres in Covington, Bloss and Hamilton townships.
•4,257 acres in Hamilton, Liberty and Union townships.
Pennsylvania state officials imposed a moratorium on drilling in state forests in 2003 in response to concerns that roads, well pads and pipelines were destroying wildlife habitat.
The Star-Gazette contributed to this report.