BELMONT -- The oil and natural gas industry has been a boon to the Buckeye State, but local officials say the related heavy truck traffic is taking a toll on local roads.
The situation is exacerbated when truck drivers unfamiliar with the area utilize the wrong roads, area leaders said.
Belmont Mayor Stan Sobel said this has been an issue in his village for the past six years
"Some of the oil and gas trucks have damaged our roads. Some of the drivers, instead of making a turn on our roads normally, they go over the sidewalk and crush sewer systems. There have been a couple times where they have knocked down the poles that held our cable and our telephone services, and we were without service for three days because of that. There's just been a whole host of things going on," he said, adding that the problem in his community mainly occurs on Bridge Street and Main Street, with residents' mailboxes taking damage as well.
"For us and many of the small villages, the big thing is the destruction of roads," Sobel continued. "They're breaking up our roads. Some of the drivers go through people's yards. We had, at one time, three different mailboxes that were sheared off along the road and lying in the road because of some of these people that went through.
"This is from trucks trying to make the turn and making it a little too wide. … Sometimes the trucks go the wrong way from the GPS course that they're supposed to do, and they end up going down a street that is so narrow they actually have to be towed out of there. Some of this stuff happens in the middle of the night, and we don't know about it until the next day," he said.
Sobel said the problem seems to be getting worse over time, as truck traffic increases along with the number of wells being drilled.
"It's actually getting a lot worse now. We probably have picked up twice as much oil and gas truck traffic through the village since last December. They're breaking up our roads and our sewer system, because our roads were not made to take that weight," Sobel said. "I would say almost every community around here where there's a lot of that traffic, you'll see the same thing. Within 2 miles of Belmont, there are, I think, three oil pads. There's a lot of traffic going back and forth between these places through our village. … I don't know if they have bad GPS instructions for their drivers or they're just not paying attention," he said.
The mayor noted that signage in the village warns drivers of potential $500 fines for well traffic using the wrong route.
"But that doesn't really seem to stop them," he said. "Small villages are really hoping that these large companies can help us out with the constant battering of our streets. That's a very, very costly situation. To repave the streets is a lot of money, and they're ripping them up."
In nearby Bethesda, Village Administrator Dirk Davis said concerns about cracks and potholes in roads from the north corporation to the south corporation limit became more complicated due to EQT Corp.'s takeover of Rice Energy. Village leaders are still in talks with EQT regarding how Rice's road use maintenance agreement with Bethesda applies to EQT.
Belmont "County Road 26, which is North and South Main Street through Bethesda, we've had issues with the maintenance contract. It hasn't really been attended to," Davis said. "We're just dealing with it as we can until EQT gives us an answer back."
Belmont County Engineer Terry Lively said his office keeps track of RUMAs and remains in contact with companies in the industry.
"We do RUMA agreements with the people that are doing well pads. By law, they are the only companies that are required to do RUMA agreements, although most of the pipeline and midstream producers also do RUMA agreements with us," Lively said. "We always specify a route that they're supposed to use, and unfortunately some of their subcontractors and suppliers when going to and from their site will take the shortest route available, regardless of what the RUMA route may be. They'll take whatever route they want to. …
"By law, it's a public road," he continued. "They have the right to use it as long as they're not overloaded or oversize, but the RUMA agreement says they are going to stick to a specific route, and that has been a problem since day one. We'll get calls from residents complaining about trucks being on a road they're not supposed to be on. Most of the time they're correct about that.
"When we chase them down and figure out who it is, almost always the excuse is: 'Well that's where my GPS told me to go,'" he said. "It's a problem on their end. Some of the oil and gas companies have been proactive in trying to solve that problem with their own security forces to try to prevent that from happening. Other just don't seem to be too concerned about it."
Lively pointed out that by breaking a RUMA agreement, drivers are violating a contract rather than the law.
"We rely heavily on residents to take pictures or video so we can go after the companies that are responsible," he noted.
Mike Chadsey, director of public relations with the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, acknowledged that many industry drivers do not use the correct RUMA routes.
"We're certainly aware of that. We try to work with our operators and their contractors and subcontractors to make sure they're following the RUMA routes, because that is the safest way for them to travel from point A to point B and avoid things like bridges that can't withstand the weight and busy roads," Chadsey said. "It's sort of an ongoing reminder to our operators and their folks -- you've got to stay on the route. It's the best route for the community. It's the best route for you. But understandably sometimes you get a new driver or new employee and they're just following the GPS on their trucks."
Chadsey said the industry is aware of potential problems related to violating RUMAs, such as sharing roads with school buses; he said many RUMA routes were selected specifically to help the trucks avoid school bus traffic. On other occasions, operators are also told to stay off the road between certain times so as not to interrupt school bus traffic, he said.
"There were certainly some learning curves on both sides. The township perspective, the county engineer perspective, but also the operator perspective. I think a lot of that has been worked out in the last couple of years," Chadsey said.
He added that the Oil and Gas Safety Council holds monthly meetings and works with local emergency services and law enforcement agencies. Chadsey said the industry is amenable to providing compensation should evidence be produced that an operator is responsible for damage. He also noted the dollars the industry have included money used to pave the roads the companies use.
"Everybody behind the wheel of that truck, that's a job, that's an opportunity to provide for their families. Certainly some patience is in order as these folks get used to hauling these loads on these specific routes," Chadsey said, pointing out that the companies bring added business to local communities as truck drivers eat and refuel in the area.
"Each one of these well pad frack jobs takes a lot of equipment, a lot of products. There are many loads to haul that material," he said. "It takes a lot of people to haul that equipment across Eastern Ohio and the Appalachian Basin. You're talking about a large number of people in a 24-hour operation all year long."