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[BigRedDog]

BRD when they did the seismic studies in the Adrian area I don't think I knew of any complaints about shaking. It is interesting to see miles upon miles of what appears to amount to extensions cords and outlets along the sides of the roads.

BRD: they did the unpaved section of Dunbar out west between Meanwell and Wells a bit ago.   Without the flags along the ditch you'd have never noticed.   The larger trucks while doing the study were just that...larger trucks.   No shakes, no tremors that I'm aware of.

Glad to hear that there aren't any major vibrations being created.  Before I even posted the thread I did a Google search and there were articles on some road commissions denying permits for similar projects.  My main concern is seeing anymore damage to some already bad roads.  Will be interesting to see what happens when they work their way down to Rauch road


Here are a couple of videos that appear to me to be at least along the line of what they're doing.

3D Seismic

Seismic Survey (movie)

[jbs49238]

I am pure organic, them's fightin' words!!

You think what you like, JBS, I don't think you have paid enough attention the facts on fracking.

I think you have paid TOO MUCH attention to the opinions on fracking, especially the ones that only focus on your "facts".

[marilyn.monroe]

Tell that to the USGS jbs.

[marilyn.monroe]

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/opinions/x681123089/LETTER-Sign-petition-to-put-anti-fracking-initiative-on-state-ballot


Many Michigan residents oppose the auctioning of public land to be used for fracking.  Many residents are aware of the dangers of fracking and are concerned that their land, water and ecosystems will be irreparably damaged by this toxic process. Many are also rightly concerned about fracking’s excessive use of water  — 5 million to 7 million gallons of water per well. 

 The Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan is a citizen-led initiative to amend the state constitution to ban horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.  It is the goal of this committee to place this issue on the November ballot so that the people of Michigan can decide whether or not they want their public lands to be used for fracking.


letsbanfracking.org

[marilyn.monroe]

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-22/classified/sns-rt-us-usa-fracking-regulationsbre85l1dq-20120622_1_fracking-sand-and-chemicals-underground-drilling-technique

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is extending by 60 days the deadline for the public to comment on a proposal expanding oversight of fracking drilling on federal lands, as both industry and environmental groups seek changes.

 The Interior Department unveiled draft regulations in early May that would require companies to get approval before using fracking and to reveal the chemicals they would use in the process after they finish drilling.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-31/fracking-s-interstate-pollution-needs-u-dot-s-dot-rules-scientist-says

Air and water pollution from natural- gas and oil production using hydraulic fracturing moves across state lines, so the drilling should be regulated by the federal government, a Cornell University scientist said.

The process, known as fracking, uses chemically treated water to free gas trapped in underground shale formations. It also releases benzene and ozone into the atmosphere and can pollute surface water, Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, said in prepared remarks for a hearing today by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/interior_fracking/?rc=tw1
Form to submit comments on fracking to President Obama's administration.

[BigRedDog]

We took a ride out Yargerville as far as Jackman last night...

the amount of orange paint they put on the road may be enough to help bind the pothole fills together...

I wonder if they go back and remove all their little orange and yellow flags when they're done

[ytrewq]

No, they do not remove the flags.  Apparently the property owners or the county are expected to.  They are all over along Wells/Albain/Ida West and they did that area several weeks ago.  Big deal on the paint, but they should be expected to clean up their litter.  Its almost as bad as the advertising MEN carriers throw in everyone's driveway.

[arpydave]

No, they do not remove the flags.  Apparently the property owners or the county are expected to.  They are all over along Wells/Albain/Ida West and they did that area several weeks ago.  Big deal on the paint, but they should be expected to clean up their litter.  Its almost as bad as the advertising MEN carriers throw in everyone's driveway.

Perhaps they haven't yet finished.  The ones along Dunbar were pulled promptly after the study.

[Professor H]

Perhaps they haven't yet finished.  The ones along Dunbar were pulled promptly after the study.

I'll support that as they wound up their cords and took all the flags unless one or two got lost in the weeds.

I was here the day the trucks went down Dunbar and it was a minor inconvenience with the noise - and the trucks did no damage to the paved road...   It couldn't do anything but help patched roads like Rauch as the pressure would smooth them out.

I'm sure if they found oil/gas on "YOUR" property  (That is if you actually are the owner of the property) - it might be different.
Easy to say don't do it - when you aren't the recipient of the $$ 

[eriemermaid]

Easy to say don't do it - when you aren't the recipient of the $$ 

That is how I feel about wind power!

[BigRedDog]

I'll support that as they wound up their cords and took all the flags unless one or two got lost in the weeds.

I was here the day the trucks went down Dunbar and it was a minor inconvenience with the noise - and the trucks did no damage to the paved road...   It couldn't do anything but help patched roads like Rauch as the pressure would smooth them out.

I'm sure if they found oil/gas on "YOUR" property  (That is if you actually are the owner of the property) - it might be different.
Easy to say don't do it - when you aren't the recipient of the $$ 

You're hitting on an interesting side to all this right there Professor... 

Although you may very well be the "fee simple" owner of your property and you think you have clearcut control of what happens on your property...  or rather happens on the "surface" of your property...   as soon as you go underground you may have a very rude awakening.  It was very common back in the 1920s through the 1950s for the seller to "reserve all mineral rights" when they were selling property in Michigan because of all the "potential" oil and gas strikes...   which in hind sight we know happened in small pockets at best.  Of course with all the new technology (even short of "fracking") there are lots more possibilities again. 

When you bought your property the title company probably did a 30 year search of the title history (that's the minimum they're required to do for a standard policy I believe).  And then they insure your title but also add some save all language for themselves...   something about mineral rights previously reserved....   but since it's been over 30 years in most cases no specific names show up...  but believe me...  if they hit oil in your back yard every great grandchild, niece and nephew (real or imagined) will be showing up to stand in line ahead of you (the surface rights owner) with their hand out for a check...

So, you could literally end up with a producing well in your back yard and get nothing for it...  in some cases the drilling rigs can even enter your property on your surface rights and set up their operations and still not have to compensate you as the owner!  These are the kind of nightmares that often come down to who has the deepest pockets and can hire the best attorney...   I know you've done ok for yourself, but I wouldn't be surprised Marathon Oil can outspend you on legal fees

We lived across the road from 3 producing oil wells up in Midland county before we moved down here.  We bought 10 acres and I figured they had to be pumping some of that oil from under our ground...   and they were but we never saw a dime!!!   But we did get to put up with their trucks going in and out all the time...  and crude oil stinks unless you're the one getting the royalty checks...    and when we first moved there the wells were powered by a huge "hit n miss" engine...  with a big rod running down through the woods to tie the wells to the engine.  Fortunately we were young and just married and the engine was a lot like a gigantic metronome...   gave us something to "keep a rhythm to"

'One Lunger' Single Cylinder Oil Field Engine


I believe one of the last wells they actually drilled in Monroe County is out in your area...   on Martell Road down near Darby...   I don't think they hit anything...  I know there's nothing but corn there now...  but that summer there was dust and noise everywhere and you could see the lights on the derrick clear into Ida!!!

I found an article from the MEN in  a Google search...  but again, the link comes up blind...  I'll post the link anyway in case they ever get it fixed

Company drills for oil on Ida farm field - Monroe Evening News
www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060801/...
Aug 1, 2006 – ... by Hendric and Nikki Virley between W. Dunbar and W. Albain Rds. ... If the Martell Rd. well starts producing, storage tanks will be erected ...

I suppose for a very few lucky people it might be a windfall...

but for most of us it will just be a big inconvenience

[Mike Ingels]

Here's what's interesting: If they do find oil, they can force-pool you into a drilling area and pay you a state-mandated rate.  No negotiations.  No nothing.  Basically, if your house sits on some oil or gas and most of the people around you sign leases, they can take your mineral rights even if you are opposed to it.  I actually know a fair amount about this because they did seismic testing on and along my third of an acre here in Adrian and we signed a lease.  And it made us hundredaires! Yippie!

[Frenchfry]

I find mineral rights fascinating. One day, out of the blue, my grandmother started receiving checks from a company that was mining coal on property long ago sold in western Kentucky. Every so often those several thousand dollar checks would arrive...and eventually grandma passed on so since my aunt was the executor of her estate, she cashed the checks.


After a few years the check amounts started dropping into the hundreds....and finally to less than a hundred....less demand for high sulphur coal was blamed.


In the end the checks stopped altogether....my aunt said the State of Kentucky all of a sudden wanted her to pay some sort of property tax and she didn't think it was worth it so she just let the property go into some sort of foreclosure...which to me sounds really strange considering the property was sold long ago in the first place.

I didn't know mineral rights could be foreclosed on...or that property tax could be levied separately...on the landowner and the mineral rights owner.

[Professor H]

They came through here back in the late nineties with offers for short term leases on the mineral rights, that had options for renewal.   Never got the renewal check - so we have the rights back...

Many land in the UP has been bought and then sold - minus those mineral rights, often to hunting groups or camps... 

If you buy acreage, it's probably something to check as it could affect the price.

[BigRedDog]

I find mineral rights fascinating. One day, out of the blue, my grandmother started receiving checks from a company that was mining coal on property long ago sold in western Kentucky. Every so often those several thousand dollar checks would arrive...and eventually grandma passed on so since my aunt was the executor of her estate, she cashed the checks.


After a few years the check amounts started dropping into the hundreds....and finally to less than a hundred....less demand for high sulphur coal was blamed.


In the end the checks stopped altogether....my aunt said the State of Kentucky all of a sudden wanted her to pay some sort of property tax and she didn't think it was worth it so she just let the property go into some sort of foreclosure...which to me sounds really strange considering the property was sold long ago in the first place.

I didn't know mineral rights could be foreclosed on...or that property tax could be levied separately...on the landowner and the mineral rights owner.

I'm sure state laws vary widely on some of these issues Ff...

Here's an article that talks about some of the taxes often imposed:

http://www.mineralweb.com/owners-guide/oil-and-gas-basics-for-mineral-owners/