Range Resources: Landowners Would Lose 'Tens of Millions' if Company Leaves Township

Range Resources opened up Tuesday about — saying that inconsistencies in the township’s rules regarding work trailers for onsite supervisors has caused it difficulties.

“In some instances, these inconsistencies in rules have caused us to suddenly change plans, and we’ve incurred some significant costs as a result,” company spokesman Matt Pitzarella said in an email Tuesday. “Ultimately, we’re fine with that, so long as (we) end up with a situation where the township has strict but consistent guidelines that we can plan for.”

And he reiterated: The company wants to continue its relationship with the township.

“We very much want a good relationship with Mt. Pleasant. We’ve spent the last two years listening to concerns of resident and local government officials and we’ve developed an ordinance that we believe addresses all of these concerns in a way that complements existing state and federal law,” Pitzarella continued. “The purpose of the two letters is to provide all residents with an update on the new steps we will be taking in the township, and to provide a more direct update to landowners and businesses who have frequently called us or appeared at public meetings expressing a desire for us to drill more.”

As for the public meeting scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hickory Fire Hall tomorrow?

“The purpose of tomorrow’s meeting is part of our model ordinance approach, which includes a notification meeting of future drilling plans. And while we believe that conditional use permitting costs townships more money and provides no certainty for planning purposes, it’s not a sticking point,” he said in the statement. “We operate in several townships and have conditional-use permits. The challenges we face is the township rule to prevent work trailers for onsite supervisors.”

Mt. Pleasant Township is mulling an ordinance that would make Marcellus Shale drilling a conditional use.

Pitzarella said that while the Southpointe-based company doesn’t want to abandon operations in Mt. Pleasant, if it did, landowners would lose out.

“More than 90 percent of the landowners have signed a gas lease. To date, we’ve paid several millions of dollars in lease and royalty payments and roughly $5 million on road and infrastructure improvements,” he said. “If we have to walk away from the township — which we desperately do not want to do — it would cost landowners tens of millions of dollars in lost royalties.”

But reached Tuesday, State Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, said he thought that statement was “disconcerting.”

“At the end of the day, no one denies the gas industry is a business. But how can anyone with common sense believe Range Resources would be willing to lose tens of millions of dollars in profits over the issue of workers being able to live in trailers,” he asked. “Really? I mean really?"

And he added that these types of moves by industry leaders are disappointing.

“At the end of the day, these types of tactics make it very difficult for policy makers like myself, who are in favor of Marcellus Shale drilling, to have a constructive dialogue with our constituents and the industry.”

Reached Tuesday, Sen. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, said he had heard that Range Resources was considering pulling operations out of Mt. Pleasant Township, and that if he were a landowner there, he “would be angry.”

“This is a reason why there should be an agreed-to, uniform code that makes some things standard across the board but leaves some decisions (to local boards),” he said. “If (Marcellus Shale drilling) companies are doing everything properly and safely, why would we want to stop an industry that is providing jobs, giving us low-cost energy opportunities and helping residents become overnight successes?”

White acknowledged the importance of uniformity, and said that was one of the primary reasons he is spearheading a Marcellus Shale Municipal Co-Op, which recently saw .