Shale Boom: Economic impact

COLUMBIANA COUNTY, Ohio - Some Valley residents who signed land deals with gas drilling companies are starting to receive signing bonus money.

Many stand to make millions of dollars, but does the economical impact outweigh what could happen to the environment?

Last year marked the arrival of the shale industry in Ohio and drilling rigs started popping up on farm lands just outside of Columbiana County.

Four wells have been drilled on a property behind Earl McKarns' home, but the horizontal fracking is taking place underneath his land.

He signed his deal three years ago, before any talk of big royalties.

But he believes he is doing his part to help the community. "It's like farming, it's a gamble," McKarns said.

As more land owners were approached by drilling companies they decided they needed a better deal than what they would sign at their kitchen tables.

Bob Rea, a farmer, organized the Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley. It is a vast group of property owners who were able to bring their combined tens of thousands of acres to the table with gas companies.

Their deal includes a signing bonus, but it also covers something that you can't put a price on, their land.

"We had our attorneys develop a lease that we felt we could be comfortable with, that would approach and address some of the issues that potentially could be harmful to the environment and that's where we started," Rea said.

That lease has become a national model that presses gas companies to do better than the state of Ohio's regulations.

For example, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources gas companies can drill at least 200 feet away from a residence. Under ALOV's agreement, it's 500 feet.

Rea says, "That simply comes because you do have a number of people who are willing to sign a lease at the same time. Strength in numbers certainly benefits us."

The agreement also holds the company responsible for damages to the water supply.

That it will bear the burden of restoring water quality and quantity to its pre-existing condition. And it will provide potable water during that restoration process.

"So far we like what we've seen in responsibility that has been exercised here in these counties and we commend the agencies for taking those precautions," Ream said.

The farmers who are getting their signing bonus checks do not wish to go on camera, but they say they have been putting that money back into their farms by buying new equipment.

A farm equipment store in Carroll County has seen an increase in sales over the past year.

Mike Saunders, Manager at Vernon Dell in Carrollton, says after years of hardship in this rural part of Ohio the shale industry has brought an economic boost. "There's no doubt that we've certainly seen a benefit of increased sales as a direct result of the gas lease monies coming in," Saunders said.

Farmers say the shale industry has given them a chance to update the way they farm, instead of having to make do with old methods.

The shale business isn't going away any time soon.

That's why Rea has now changed the volunteer-based ALOV to Buckeye Mineral Development. A business that will continue to help farmers make land deals in the future.