An editorial “Corbett balks at forced pooling” opines:
“While lauding the industry for the new jobs it creates, Corbett says he opposes a controversial legal tool called ‘forced pooling’ that drillers use to gain access to minerals beneath private property against the wishes of the landowner.
“With forced pooling, a driller is allowed to extract minerals from a large area or ‘pool’ (at least 640 acres, in many cases) when leases have been negotiated with only a certain percentage of landowners. The percentage varies by state and can be anywhere from 25 to 60 percent.”
WATCHDOG: The New Era overlooks a powerful argument on behalf of ‘forced pooling’: Natural gas flows between soil strata and is not contained by property lines. Thus companies can extract the gas from under non-leased properties without payments to the owners. ‘Forced pooling’ not only increases the supply and efficiency but is more fair.
What isn’t fair is Corbett’s refusal to tax the natural gas as do all other states. Having taken so much industry money for his campaign, he feels his obligations are greater to his donors than to the citizenry.
