Bradford County Commissioners (from left) Doug McLinko, Daryl Miller, and Ed Bustin called for public action and a renewed push for legislation to protect landowners whose gas royalties have dwindled due to post production costs that the commissioners insist are illegal.
Photos and Story by Rick Hiduk
A years-long struggle to get fair compensation for landowners who have natural gas wells on their properties is picking up steam as the Bradford County Commissioners plan for a public forum on gas royalties in Towanda next week.
“We’re at ‘game day,’” said Commissioner Doug McLinko in reference to a quickly waning legislative session in Harrisburg. “We need the county to rally behind this like they have from the start.”
Commissioner Daryl Miller read a resolution that he had drafted requesting that state legislators pass House Bill 1391 or at least bring it up to debate.
“There is a process, and all we are asking is that the process is followed,” Commissioner Ed Bustin related. “At the end of the day, they could bring it to the floor and vote it down. That’s OK.”
“It’s painful to have to sit here six years and deal with a situation that gets more painful by the month,” said Miller, who explained that numerous lease-holders are receiving negative royalty statements, which he considers the same as bills. “I can’t believe that, if a landowner was to receive nothing or less than nothing, that that is fair compensation for the gas being removed from his property. It’s ludicrous.”
The commissioners applauded the Wilmot Township supervisors for approving a resolution on Sept. 6 demanding that production be ceased on wells in the township until landowners’ issues with Chesapeake Energy have been resolved. The PA Attorney General levied a lawsuit against Chesapeake last December for improper transactions as landowner leases were shuffled back and forth between companies.
“The Wilmot gesture was symbolic,” Bustin stated. “But symbolism is important. It leads to change.” He referenced the Boston Tea Party as a famous example of a symbolic motion with far-reaching consequences.
McLinko acknowledged that the public may have grown weary of the subject, but getting the attention of legislators before they recess for the year is critcial.
“This is a fight that we’re going to continue to wage,” Miller concurred.
A 1979 Pennsylvania law set the guaranteed minimum royalty rate at 12 ½ percent. Chesapeake has routinely justified additional deductions from royalty payments for post-production costs including “gathering fees.” Miller cited stone quarries as an example of mineral extraction that falls under the same law. Stone companies don’t take post-production costs from landowners, Miller noted, and neither should gas companies.
The commissioners subsequently approved the hiring of Zeppelin Communications, an international public relations company, to produce a video focused on the battle in Bradford County between landowners and gas companies.
“We need to tell this story in our words,” McLinko remarked. At an estimated cost of $15,000, Zeppelin Communications will conduct interviews of landowners, lawyers, and participants of the town hall meeting, which is slated for 6 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 14 in the Towanda High School auditorium. McLinko noted that funds for the project will come from county gas royalties. Approximately 1,000 acres of county land is leased to gas companies.
The video will be delivered to legislators in Harrisburg by October and also be accessible via social media and websites. In the meantime, McLinko urged those living in the Marcellus Shale region to flood the voice mailboxes and email accounts of Speaker of the House Mike Turzai at 717-772-9943 and mturzai@pahousegop.com and Majority Leader Dave Reed at 717-705-7173 and dreed@pahousegop.com.
“If people don’t think that it affects them, they’re wrong. It affects everybody,” McLinko asserted. “The whole commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a stake in what we do here.”
Comprehensive Plan Bid Opened
Under “unfinished business,” the commissioners moved to take under advisement the only sealed bid submitted for managing a new Comprehensive Plan for the county. Chief Clerk Michelle Shedden opened a bid from Marguerite Fox Picou.
“We want to make sure that it’s done right because so much in our county has changed,” said McLinko in reference to the gas industry.
Proclamations Read
The commissioners signed proclamations on Sept. 8 marking it as International Literacy Day and Sept. 26 to Oct. 1 as National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week in Bradford County. Bradford-Wyoming Co. Literacy Program director Michele Robbins (above) was on hand to read the proclamation.
The commissioners also marked Chamber of Commerce Week in Bradford County as Central Bradford Chamber director Jenny Morino (below, standing) read a proclamation.
McLinko acknowledged the importance of the chamber organizations in the county, noting that he was president of the Wysox Area Chamber of Commerce for a number of years before the organization merged with the Towanda Chamber to form the Central Bradford Chamber.
“The cooperation between the chambers makes our job easier and contributes to tourism and economic development,” Bustin added.
Effectiveness of Tourism Agency Challenged
Towanda Bed & Breakfast owner Jack Coates (above, seated) expressed his disappointment with the Bradford County Tourism & Promotion Agency (BCTPA) that was formed nearly two years ago after the Bradford County Commissioners voted to leave the Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau.
“Are we creating any destinations?” Coates asked the commissioners. “I need something to promote.”
“We have a lot of treasures here,” McLinko replied. “Collectively, we can be a destination.”
“They’re not coming here to stay,” Coates said of travelers on their way to the wine districts of New York State and other attractions to the north, “or they’re just driving through.”
“We’re trying to do the best that we can,” McLinko said of BCTPA. “The explosion of hotels was due to natural gas.”
“I think we’re building momentum,” Bustin suggested. “It’s going to take a while to gain that level of momentum.”
Coates noted that BCTPA has a Facebook page, but events are often posted just a day or two in advance. “Fall foliage is coming,” said Coates, who operates the Victorian Charm Inn on York Avenue with his wife, Mindy. “That’s the time to get people into our area.”
“The foundation of what we set out to do needs to be done,” McLinko conceded, subsequently inviting Coates to attend the next meeting of the BCTPA board on Sept. 19 to share his ideas.
A related issue that Coates hoped the commissioners or BCTPA could address is airbnb.com, a website through which any homeowner can list a room for rent much the same way that Uber.com provides opportunities for everyday people to provide rides in their own vehicles.
“A lot of people are doing this underground,” Coates explained. “I feel that we are losing a lot of revenue that could be collected. If they want to rent a room out in their home, they should be paying the same (official room) tax.”