125
narrow, winding roads that could not accommodate either the width or the turning
radius of the giant triple drill rig components and other large equipment that needed
to get to a drill pad. Thus, the first action often taken by industry when moving onto
a new shale play was to bring in road graders and bulldozers to construct, widen and
straighten roads so equipment and materials could get in and out. This usually did
not endear them to the locals.
One might think that improved roads would be welcomed in rural areas (as
indeed some were by county highway departments), but many people had moved to
these areas in the first place seeking quiet and isolation. A picturesque country lane
transformed into a broad avenue of packed dirt that was either choked with dust or
mired in mud by a constant parade of semi-trucks and heavy machinery quickly
soured many a rural landowner on the “benefits” of shale gas. Some roads that were
often the only route into people’s property were blocked for hours as equipment was
gingerly maneuvered through tight turns or up steep hills. Although industry had
widened and improved the roads, the constant heavy vehicle traffic typically left
them as cratered as the moon within weeks. Local highway departments were often
tasked with repairs.
One location that stands out in particular for landscape impacts is Wetzel County,
WV. This small, rural county located in the northwestern part of the state alongside
the Ohio River became a center of activity in 2008 during the early days of the
Marcellus Shale boom. It sits at the base of the northern West Virginia panhandle
with terrain that includes dendritic drainage, steep slopes, incised narrow stream
valleys, and high bluffs. It is also a transit point for a number of interstate gas transmission pipelines, which attracted drillers because there was a market to sell
Marcellus Shale gas. Of even greater interest, the Marcellus here also produces
ethane as an NGL, which is used in the manufacture of polyethylene plastic.
Upland areas in Wetzel County are generally flatter than other terrain, and industry preferred these for building the large drill pads needed for fracking operations.
However, to reach these locations, access roads had to be carved into the hills from
the main highways that run along the Ohio River or through the larger stream valleys. This area bore the brunt of the shale gas boom at the end of the first decade of
the twenty-first century. Dozens of well pads are located on the hilltops east of the
Ohio River town of New Martinsville, the county seat.
Routes to the drill pads were often carved into valley walls along the edges of
streams. Following the valley of a watercourse to a hilltop saved significantly on
excavating costs, but improper road construction on such landscapes can be
extremely destructive to small watersheds. Careless road building may result in
excessive runoff, sediment-choked streams, unstable slopes, ponding of water
behind embankments, groundwater contamination, flash floods, and poorly-drained
flood plains, all of which may alter stream hydrology and damage aquatic habitat.
Even roads that do not affect the stream channel itself can still cause damage in the
riparian zone. This is a strip of vegetation along the stream bank that moderates
runoff, traps sediment, allows for the exchange of surface water and groundwater,
and reduces nutrient loads in the stream. The water quality of headwater streams
7.1 Bulldozers Running Amok
narrow, winding roads that could not accommodate either the width or the turning
radius of the giant triple drill rig components and other large equipment that needed
to get to a drill pad. Thus, the first action often taken by industry when moving onto
a new shale play was to bring in road graders and bulldozers to construct, widen and
straighten roads so equipment and materials could get in and out. This usually did
not endear them to the locals.
One might think that improved roads would be welcomed in rural areas (as
indeed some were by county highway departments), but many people had moved to
these areas in the first place seeking quiet and isolation. A picturesque country lane
transformed into a broad avenue of packed dirt that was either choked with dust or
mired in mud by a constant parade of semi-trucks and heavy machinery quickly
soured many a rural landowner on the “benefits” of shale gas. Some roads that were
often the only route into people’s property were blocked for hours as equipment was
gingerly maneuvered through tight turns or up steep hills. Although industry had
widened and improved the roads, the constant heavy vehicle traffic typically left
them as cratered as the moon within weeks. Local highway departments were often
tasked with repairs.
One location that stands out in particular for landscape impacts is Wetzel County,
WV. This small, rural county located in the northwestern part of the state alongside
the Ohio River became a center of activity in 2008 during the early days of the
Marcellus Shale boom. It sits at the base of the northern West Virginia panhandle
with terrain that includes dendritic drainage, steep slopes, incised narrow stream
valleys, and high bluffs. It is also a transit point for a number of interstate gas transmission pipelines, which attracted drillers because there was a market to sell
Marcellus Shale gas. Of even greater interest, the Marcellus here also produces
ethane as an NGL, which is used in the manufacture of polyethylene plastic.
Upland areas in Wetzel County are generally flatter than other terrain, and industry preferred these for building the large drill pads needed for fracking operations.
However, to reach these locations, access roads had to be carved into the hills from
the main highways that run along the Ohio River or through the larger stream valleys. This area bore the brunt of the shale gas boom at the end of the first decade of
the twenty-first century. Dozens of well pads are located on the hilltops east of the
Ohio River town of New Martinsville, the county seat.
Routes to the drill pads were often carved into valley walls along the edges of
streams. Following the valley of a watercourse to a hilltop saved significantly on
excavating costs, but improper road construction on such landscapes can be
extremely destructive to small watersheds. Careless road building may result in
excessive runoff, sediment-choked streams, unstable slopes, ponding of water
behind embankments, groundwater contamination, flash floods, and poorly-drained
flood plains, all of which may alter stream hydrology and damage aquatic habitat.
Even roads that do not affect the stream channel itself can still cause damage in the
riparian zone. This is a strip of vegetation along the stream bank that moderates
runoff, traps sediment, allows for the exchange of surface water and groundwater,
and reduces nutrient loads in the stream. The water quality of headwater streams
7.1 Bulldozers Running Amok