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mortgages, title insurance and homeowner's insurance-- as are their
neighbors. But now there is apparently another risk to leasing one's
minerals.
According to Reuters, companies are placing liens for unpaid bills
against some property owners who signed leases with Chesapeake. The
report quote an attorney as saying that "such liens could interfere with an
owner's ability to sell the property." Reuters spoke to one property owner
who was never even informed about the lien until he found out about it
from the Reuters reporter.
Amy Mall’s Blog
Oil and gas industry takes a toll on local health care providers
Posted December 28, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the
Environment
Tags: fracking, gasdrilling, hydraulicfracturing, hydrofracking,
marcellus, oilandgas, pennsylvania, shale
In addition to the environmental impacts of oil and gas production,
including dangerous air and water contamination and destruction of
wildlife habitat, NRDC is concerned about other impacts to communities
that have been documented, such as increased crime, infrastructure
burdens that require massive repair, and the growing demand for social
and municipal services. Another serious impact is a large increase in the
need for health care services. Communities with oil and gas development
can see increased emergency room visits in particular, from traffic and
occupational accidents.
A recent report from Tioga County, Pennsylvania, tells of a
community-owned not-for-profit hospital that is experiencing its first
budget loss in five years, due to workers in the oil and gas industry who do
not have health insurance. According to the hospital's CEO, "many
subcontractors attracted to the area’s Marcellus Shale drilling boom do not
cover employees." Not only should the oil and gas industry clean up its
environmental mess, but it should also provide health care insurance to its
workers so that taxpayers or those who are insured do not foot the bill.
The industry can afford it.