Marcellus Shale Industry Obliged to Repair State Roads
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
22 June 2011
By Jon Schmitz
The Marcellus Shale gas drilling industry has taken a toll on the
state's roads, and its member companies have also paid a toll.
It's an open question whether the $411 million the companies have
invested since 2008 to repave and improve roads is enough, said Scott
Christie, deputy secretary for highway administration for the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
"Has that significantly improved things? Has it allowed us to keep
pace? We haven't quite gotten to the point where we can answer," Mr.
Christie said Tuesday, after he spoke at the second annual Marcellus
Transportation Safety Day in Washington County.
The department will study the issue county by county, he said, but
there is no timetable yet for completing the inquiry.
The event at Southpointe, sponsored by the Marcellus Shale Coalition,
made up of 201 industry companies, was intended to raise awareness of
regulations and safety issues related to the burgeoning gas drilling
business, coalition president and executive director Kathryn Z. Klaber
said. "It's to raise the bar on operating
Some statistics quoted by PennDOT and state police officials at the
event suggested that some bar-raising is needed.
State police Maj. Harvey Cole Jr. said that in response to significant
increases in truck traffic, the department had conducted 5,800 roadside
inspections of industry trucks since January 2010 and found 13,000
driver and vehicle safety violations, including 2,800 serious enough to
put the driver or truck out of service.
In all, 42 percent of the inspections resulted in pulling drivers or
vehicles out of service, he said. The national average for all truck
inspections is 24 percent.
"We've found that the industry has a higher out-of-service rate than
the overall commercial vehicle industry," said Kevin Stewart, program
administrator for the department's commercial vehicle safety section.
While the top reasons for ordering drivers off the road were related to
paperwork, the most frequent vehicle deficiencies that caused removal
from service were faulty brake tubing and hoses, lighting, poorly
adjusted and defective brakes, and improperly secured cargo, he said.
After fatal crashes involving all commercial vehicles fell sharply from
2007 to 2009, the total shot up again in 2010, when there were 152 such
crashes, 24 more than the year before, he said.
In conjunction with Tuesday's forum, the shale coalition released
results of a survey of 28 member companies that determined they had
spent a combined $411 million fixing or improving roads since 2008.
"We understand and recognize the concerns regarding the increase in
truck traffic and its impact on our roads," Ms. Klaber said. "And we
also understand, as good neighbors, that we must do everything to
ensure that we leave these roads in better condition than when our
operations started."
Mr. Christie said that since 2008, coinciding with the shale gas boom,
more than 4,000 miles of state roadway had been posted with weight
restrictions, sometimes because of truck damage and sometimes in
anticipation of large truck traffic from new well sites. Of PennDOT's
40,000 miles of roads, 11,253 miles, more than one-quarter, are
restricted, he said.
PennDOT requires companies to obtain permits to run heavy trucks on the
weight-restricted roads. To do so, they must enter agreements to repair
any damage caused by the trucks and post bond for every mile of road
being used, he said. The department inspects such roads at least weekly
and notifies companies when repairs are needed. In most cases, they
have five days to start the work and 10 more to complete it and could
have their permits revoked if they don't comply.
Companies generally have been responsive, Mr. Christie said. "The
simple fact is the industry is fixing the roads."
Drilling operators are also required to obtain "driveway permits" for
the access roads leading to wells and utility permits to run pipeline
within PennDOT rights of way, said Glenn Rowe, PennDOT division chief
for highway safety and traffic engineering.
Some companies assume that if there's a road leading to the well, they
don't need a permit, he said, showing a slide of a muddy dirt road
whose entrance created a dangerous intersection on a state highway.
"This is a situation we're seeing more and more."
Another slide showed a water pipeline that a driller had illegally
installed in a drainage culvert, blocking it.
"We need to work together," Mr. Rowe told the group. "There may be some
entities out there who are oblivious to the regulations. Bring it to
PennDOT's attention. You don't want a black eye for the industry."
Most companies that have been cited for violations have moved quickly
to correct them, he said.
Industry officials said safe and responsible transportation practices
are vital to gaining public support for shale drilling, which has
spawned controversy across the state. A major factor in shaping the
industry's image, Ms. Klaber said, is how vehicles operate in the
community.
Rob Hilliard, chair of the coalition's road use committee, said members
need to do a better job of public relations.
The best way to do that, he said, is: "Do our jobs. Do them correctly.
Do them safely. Every single day."
Jon Schmitz: 412-263-1868.