Wetzel
County Action Group (WCAG) Wetzel
County Action Group (WCAG) | Index | Objectives | Contacts |
By Ray Renaud
1. New Road.
2. Maintenance. Dust control and the restoration of Macedonia Ridge Road. Also the maintenance of the other roads being used by extraction operations.
3. Chesapeake Energy. Working with them to maximize the safety of their operations and minimize their impact on the residents.
4. Environment. Insure that the drilling operations take place with the minimum impact on the environment.
If anyone feels that I have missed something please let me
know. The remainder of the e-mail contains my personal comment about the
objectives. I would encourage comments from others that could be included on the
website. I will put the comments on the website in a blog format.
1. New Road. A new road is not financially feasible. We are talking about over $2 million dollars a mile and a substantial portion of the Department of Highway’s budget. The urban dwellers of the state and taxpayers of the nation are already subsidizing our rural existence. Asking for an even larger subsidy is not politically practical.
2.
Maintenance. The two issues concerning
Macedonia Ridge Road are dust control and the restoration of the road.
The group already has had an impact on road maintenance.
3. Chesapeake Energy. This group has done an excellent job in working with Chesapeake to overcome some hurdles.
4. Environment. This item needs further discussion as it may be the one with the greatest long term impact.
Economics. We need a public permitting process that addresses the impact of drilling and other extraction operations on the infrastructure. The cost of that impact then should be paid by the operators and earmarked for the damaged infrastructure. This is good economic policy because it is assigning costs to the activity that produces them and sets aside funds to maintain the infrastructure. The extraction companies would have to raise their prices to cover the cost ,which would raise the price of gas to cover the true costs. That in turn would allow other alternative energy sources to compete on a fair economic basis.
Now for a reality check. The only problem with this
proposal is that it is politically impossible. The gas industry profits from the
subsidies they receive by having others pay for some of their costs. They have
very powerful lobbies that would be very effective in blocking this process. The
taxpayers would oppose the process because they would hear about how the price
of gas would increase. Most taxpayers do not realize that they are paying these
subsidies indirectly through taxes or in our case the direct cost to us of the
crumbling infrastructure.
The other problem with this proposal is that it needs to be enacted on a national scale. In the unlikely event that West Virginia adopted the proposal the extraction companies would shift their business to other states without the permitting process.
As you can see, I am very fond of Don Quixote.
December 8th, 2007 15:16
1.
To raise awareness of members of our community,
state and elected officials, as well as representatives of companies that are
operating in our area (oil/gas, coal and timber) of issues that affect our lives
and welfare, including:
·
The need to provide resources required to improve
and maintain our local road network (county road 3, county road 89 and Macedonia
Ridge Road).
·
The need for enforcement of existing regulations:
speed limits, load limits, convoy escorts, etc.
·
The need for adjustment of the permitting process
for gas/oil, coal and timber operations statewide. West Virginia needs a
comprehensive permitting process that: a) fully assesses and addresses
impacts of drilling and other extraction operations on the infrastructure, and
b) provides a plan for mitigating these impacts directly in each community where
they occur.
2.
To work with members of the community in
developing recommended solutions, and to build consensus for the best course of
action to take on issues that affect our lives and welfare.
3.
To communicate with those outside our community
with a unified voice concerning issues that affect our well being and
recommended solutions.
4.
To develop a partnership between our community
and the companies that operate in our area to maximize the efficiency of their
operations while minimizing the impact on our residents and our environment.
5.
To represent our community at local, state and
national forums on issues that affect us (Wetzel County, District 6, Charleston,
and Washington DC).
6.
To encourage the members of our community to
register to vote, and to actively participate in all local, state and national
elections.
-- By Nancy and Woody Ray
The Wetzel County Action
Group will work to promote the safety of road travel, improve the condition of
our roads, and insure adequate maintenance of improved roads. Our current focus
will include State Route 89, County Route 3 and their feeder roads.