Company asks to drill on school property in Mars Area
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An energy company has asked the Mars Area School District to allow it to extract natural gas from Marcellus Shale on district properties.
Barry Alexander, of Western Land Services, which acquires leases for Rex Energy, told the school board Dec. 8 that Rex would pay a one-time fee of about $3,000 per acre for the right to drill on school properties under a five-year lease.
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The district has a total of 151 acres on eight pieces of property. A drilling pad takes up 3 to 5 acres.
This is the second time the district has been approached about leasing its land. It also was approached in the fall, but the information at the time was "very vague," said board President Kim Geyer.
Now, Rex, based in State College, has begun to acquire leases in Jackson, Forward, Lancaster and Connoquenessing Township in southwestern Butler County. Mr. Alexander said the company has acquired leases for about 2,000 acres nearby. Seven wells have permits in the area of Route 528, and the company hopes to have 10 wells operating soon.
"It's getting big. It's getting exciting," he said. "The geologists are very excited about what's under the ground here."
The company also has wells in Westmoreland, Centre and Clearfield counties.
Mr. Alexander told that board that, once the drilling starts, "they're going to be drilling 24/7 for a couple of weeks."
He also said that drilling was "like building a house," and that the area would be a mess while the work was being done. But, he said, the company has to reclaim the land when it is finished.
Mrs. Geyer, board Vice President J. Dayle Ferguson and district communications manager Josh Schwoebel attended an informational meeting Dec. 9 in Adams. Mrs. Geyer said she asked whether any school districts have allowed drilling, and none have.
It is a difficult decision for a school district, she said, because of the potential disruption to the educational process.
"School districts need to be cognizant of disruption, noise, liabilities, safety, unfamiliar employees on school premises during any associated work, and a whole litany of factors that do not necessarily need to be considered by the private sector," she said.
She said she and Mrs. Ferguson will report to the rest of the school board about what they learned, and the board will make a decision at a future meeting.
First Published December 17, 2009 12:00 am
