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Permalink Reply by Alida Scheiderer on October 15, 2014 at 5:29am

It is obvious with the Ohio House passing HOUSE BILL 375, that they are not educated on what it happening in rural environments. For starters, many of them thought it is a good idea to apply a severance tax and then use the money to plug abandoned wells. Sounds good, right? WRONG? These companies that held the old leases came out of the woodwork faster than roaches if they thought they might be able to collect. Instead of forcing them to pay for closure (something they should of done anyway) they are taking it from royalty owners so that they can do WHAT? Give it right back to the OIL & GAS companies to plug the wells.... think about it... they are the only ones with the equipment and expertise to do this.

Give some $$ to local townships and schools.... I have been in 3 different rural communities. Most of the people in charge are either stupid, corrupt, or a combination of the two. This money will go down the toilet like the Switzerland of Ohio school that sold for $20 at auction and then the new school that they almost closed last year because they cant afford to keep it open.

Roads: ROMA: The government is giving the poor oil and gas companies (who, BTW, is spending billions in pipeline infrastructure) help with making rural roads wider and less bumpy. Poor things... as intelligent as they are with all their attorneys (who fight tooth and nail against the rights of landowners) didn't budget an extra $15K for more gravel for rural road development. PLEASE!!

IF ANYTHING; They should PASS this LAW: For Oil and Gas companies who used their deception, lying, and cover of Ohio Government to buy mineral rights from property owners, they should receive a 30% tax. This money should go back to the people they are stealing from.  BOLD WORDS, RIGHT? Well, I wanted to know when our area would be drilled, found no info. So, using my God-given talent, ie. my noggin, I called PUCO to ask where the pipeline projects were headed (this would give you a very clear clue as to when they would be in your area, and knowledge of how much it is really worth vs. what they offered). PUCO person told me this: Ohio decided not to make the pipelines public record until after the lines were in place and inspected because it would raise costs for the oil and gas companies when they negotiated leases. I have been sitting on this knowledge for awhile now, and it irks me to no end that our Representatives pretend to represent us, and they sold us out under our blind eyes to the oil and gas companies and now plan to collect a tax that will go into the hands of local governments who are stupid and corrupt in most cases. WAY TO GO, OHIO!

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Permalink Reply by RB on October 15, 2014 at 5:35am

Outrageous!

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Permalink Reply by jerry lee nichols on October 15, 2014 at 6:01am

Ohio is a totally Gerrymandered Republican corporate owned state.They are not for enviornmentalists nor are they for landowners,they are for corporations period. They also like to suck money out of eastern Ohio to give to their well 1% pals and the southwestern part of the state where their party is run from.

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Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on October 15, 2014 at 7:31am

Except in the USA (for sure) and (I think) also in Canada, property owners do not own the mineral rights for their land.  Those mineral rights, all of them by law, are instead owned by the government.

It seems to me like maybe some government leaders here envy the perogatives of their counterparts in other nations.

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Permalink Reply by MJ on October 15, 2014 at 7:56am

Mineral rights ownership – what is it?
Mineral rights ownership refers to who owns the rights to extract minerals – that is, oil,
gas, gold, coal and other metals and minerals – from lands located in that country. This
ownership is very important, since the rights confer considerable potential for profit from
the extraction of these minerals.
In virtually all countries around the world, the owner of the surface land – be it a house or
farmland – has absolutely no rights with regards to mineral ownership. Indeed, it is the
central governments or monarchs who own such rights. For example, in the United
Kingdom, the Queen in theory owns all the rights to extract minerals from all lands in the
country, including those lands located offshore. In practice, of course, this ownership is
actually governed by the central government.
In the USA, however, the owner of the surface land can ALSO have the rights to extract
minerals from underneath that land. In other words, private individuals own much of the
mineral rights across the USA, as opposed to governmental or state organizations.

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Permalink Reply by scott brion on October 17, 2014 at 4:37am

RB,

I just wanted to let you know that I live in Lycoming county and am running for Congress in PA-10th District.  PA-10 includes Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Tioga counties, and accounts for about 10% of the US Natural Gas production.  I am a member of the 6th generation to grow up on the same family farm, and am a landowner.  I have never run for office before and my professional background is in wholesale energy markets and advocating for landowners.  I have been a member of Go Marcellus for a long time.  I believe that natural gas development is good for Pennsylvania and the US, but that we need to get it right.   If we get development right, landowners win, industry wins and the environment wins.  I am the Democratic nominee and believe that partisan politics are keeping us from good issue based policy that we need.  As a Democrat I want to stand up for landowners and communities with shale development.  Sometimes that will mean I need to work within my own party to spread facts and understanding about development.  Sometimes that will mean working with land and royalty owners to spread facts and understanding about industry and their business practices, and sometimes that will mean standing up to Industry. 

I got involved in politics after lobbying for PA HB 1684 (state minimum Royalty) which opened my eyes to the fact we don't have enough business (particularly energy) expertise in government and too many politicians place party and special interests before the interests of constituents.   I would appreciate all of your support and especially from those of you who live in PA-10.  I am challenging Tom Marino, who is a lawyer turned career politician who generally focuses on partisan politics rather than legislating to improve rural PA.

My website is www.scottbrionforcongress.com.   I appreciate you spreading the word.  I think it is critical that we have a Member of Congress who understands and advocates for Landowner issues.

Scott Brion
Democratic Nominee for Congress
Pennsylvania 10th District

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Permalink Reply by RB on October 17, 2014 at 6:13am

Scott,
Thanks for speaking up & sharing your information. Good to hear.
What are your thoughts on the contract deductions from royalties and particularly how it relates to the PA 12.5% minimum?

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