Sep 22, 2014 4 min read

CLAYSVILLE – If all goes according to plan, 90 percent of Claysville Borough will soon be leased for natural gas extraction, and Claysville Volunteer Fire Department will get a new truck. It’s a win-win situation, according to firefighters and Range Resources.

Firefighters joined a local consulting firm to participate in Range’s pilot program, which encourages small-tract landowners to sign nonsurface leases in exchange for a donation to the community. Claysville, the first participating municipality, will receive a $500,000 fire truck from Range if the goal is met.

“There are countless examples where small tracts are simply left out of the opportunity, and this is one way to allow them to participate and benefit the fire department,” Range spokesman Matt Pitzarella said in an email. “We otherwise would have paid the money to the land broker.”

Pitzarella said the well itself would not be drilled in Claysville, but the laterals are long enough to extract gas from beneath every Claysville property. More than 90 percent of Donegal Township, which completely surrounds Claysville, is already leased.

When the Marcellus Shale boom first swept through the county, many small-tract landowners were left in the dust. Land managers persuaded many homeowners to sign leases – even those who had no minerals beneath their properties – only to later be rejected by drilling companies.

“As a result, pretty much everyone with small parcels had, in a general sense, dismissed the idea or did not take it seriously,” Pitzarella said.

And if it’s successful in Claysville, Range could roll out the program throughout Washington County, providing unforeseen opportunities to landowners of small-parcel properties in areas that were previously scheduled for drilling.

“It would conceptually work on a case-by-case basis,” Pitzarella said. “The potential is there in every township.”

Participating communities could apply for a fire truck, police dog or any other improvement project. Claysville residents who sign the lease will also receive an upfront payment of $100, plus a 17 percent royalty payment on production.

Roughly 70 percent of borough landowners already committed to signing the group lease, which is being arranged and negotiated on an individual basis by Penn GasLands Consulting in Claysville. Some property owners already signed with Range before the pilot program launched, but they also will be included.

Lance Cook, an officer in the fire department, said firefighters tried different fundraisers in the past, with little success. Some firefighters work in the drilling industry or already signed leases, so they recognized an opportunity to develop their resources while serving the community.

Cook said they have two fire trucks that are about 12 years old, and the required upkeep is “nickel and diming us to death.” One truck recently required engine repairs, which put it out of service for a few days.

Firefighters have been going door to door on their own time to explain the program to residents.

“For the most part, it’s a very well-accepted program,” Cook said. “The community really stands behind us.”

Residents who recently commented on the “Claysville, Pennsylvania” Facebook page expressed mixed opinions. Some described it as a benefit to the town, while others were skeptical about being duped into signing a lease.

Penn GasLands, which has an office in the Claysville borough building, is donating its time to inform residents about the program. Jeffrey Meace, owner of the consulting firm, said the company has successfully negotiated eight group landowner leases, most recently for 4,000 acres in Washington.

“When landowners negotiate as a large group, they always receive better lease terms and this is what we work to accomplish,” Meace said in an email.

Meace said Penn Gaslands asked local drilling companies to help fund a fire truck for two years, but no one made an offer until Range Resources presented its program.

Meace said it’s up to landowners to decide whether or not to sign, but there has been “a pretty good overall camaraderie in the borough for the fire department.”