Midwest oil damages more than land
Oil drillers have been descending on farms in the Midwest to sink new wells, and that's making some farmers rich. But it's also damaging the environment and wrecking other farmers' lives. Peter O'Dowd reports.
An oil pumping unit sits in a farm field near Okawville, Ill. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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From Ellis, KS, 08/18/2008
Debra is correct. I am an attorney doing Oil and Gas Law. Before EPA regulations of the 70s, there was a lot of damage done by leaks of oil and salt water. But now, if there are leaks or other damages to the surface, the surfaceowner must be paid damages. Two things about that sheepherder who was complaining 1) Was the damage there when he bought the land (Probably, he said he had it 5 years)? If so the previous owner rec'd the money, if any and besides, if the damages were pre-existing, it should have been figured into the price he paid. 2) I hear the same feeble arguments from opponents of wind energy. Why? Because they aren't getting a share in the pot and it irks them no end to see their neighbor buy a new tractor or pickup with their oil or wind monies and they can't. Cry babies.
That "clod" that had oil in it? Has probably been there for several decades. It used to be common practice in Kansas oil fields to dump the BS (bottom sludge) onto the lease roads, which when combined with the soil and in effect paved them and eliminated ruts by the trucks that travel the lease roads. This practice was banned by the regs.
It seems to me that the reporter was a bit biased. In Kansas, there has to be posted on the property a contact number for leaks to be reported to. Fines are quite steep for operators who do not post them. Were those tanks really leaking? Or was there some waste oil spilled at some point? I don't know of any operator willing to risk losing money due to a leak at todays prices. Did he report on the benefits the lady had from the wells on her property? No. I bet she got paid damages for every well they put on her property. It is added to every lease I negotiate.
From CO, 08/18/2008
Wyoming is not the Midwest, it is the Mountain West and these people are likely ranchers not farmers. The story didn't report on typical water damage done by drilling, which is more common and critical to ranchers in the Mountain West.
Ignore what Debra from Midland Texas writes, she probably works for the oil companies. She likely hasn't seen the resource damage that mineral companies have done to Wyoming and Colorado ranch land.
From Arlington, VA, 08/18/2008
Nice job, Peter. But I can still beat you in a breakdance-off.
From Midland, TX, 08/18/2008
The EPA regulates oil well pollution. Any spillage must be reported and the company must remediate the soil. There are laws on the books about this. If the company is actively polluting his farm he has legal recourse.
Surface owners don't share in the wealth of the mineral owner, and so have no incentive to allow drilling on their property. Oil companies must pay the surface owner "damages", an amount of money negotiated with the owner or set by state law. Companies often build roads to the surface owner's specifications, put up fences, and run electrical lines, all to make the surface owner happy. I have even bought and moved a house.
As long as state laws allow land to be sold without the mineral rights, there will be unhappy surface owners. But as for his farm being polluted and him just having to put up with it, that is pure fiction. He is just another disgruntled surface owner.
From Philadelphia, PA, 08/18/2008
PETER !!! WE LOVE YOU. MARKETPLACE WE NEED MORE STORIES BY THIS WONDERFUL JOURNALIST
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