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McKelvey Lake residents step up efforts to stop drilling
YOUNGSTOWN
Property owners in the Beachwood Estates subdivision on the city’s East Side have stepped up their efforts to prevent a water utility company from successfully lifting land restrictions for possible oil and gas drilling there.
At a private meeting Tuesday at the Covelli Centre, residents gathered to discuss their next steps and hear from two attorneys about what could be done.
The group, comprising 39 property owners, was first gathered last week by Youngstown Councilman T.J. Rodgers — who also lives in Beachwood — to learn more about a court-issued summons each of them received between July 19 and July 20.
In it, Aqua Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Aqua America, which serves millions in nine states including Ohio and Pennsylvania, requested that the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court clarify a provision in an 83-year-old warranty deed for a 6-acre stretch of property north of the subdivision and south of McKelvey Lake.
The company wants its lease with Youngstown-based Eric Petroleum Corp. cleared of any title defects so it can capitalize on the mineral rights it owns thousands of feet below the ground.
At last week’s meeting, residents were confused about what the summonses meant and expressed fear over any potential drilling that might disrupt the peace of their community.
Alan Wenger, chair of the oil and gas law group at Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell, which represents Aqua, said no drilling is planned anywhere near the subdivision or on the 6-acre parcel of land.
Eric Petroleum has asked Aqua to clear any title issues on the 6-acre parcel so it can transfer the lease to a larger operator for development. Wenger was unsure who that larger operator might be, saying it could be any number of companies operating in eastern Ohio.
In 1930, Aqua’s predecessor, the Ohio Water Service Co., acquired the parcel in question from a farmer who owned it. Included in the warranty deed — a document that transfers property from one party to another — are land restrictions.
The restrictions do not address subsurface mineral rights. Instead, they provide for unencumbered access to the lake for domestic water use, views, fishing and other bans on building on the property.
Wenger already has received a number of calls from residents there concerned about what could happen to the property and their own land if the restrictions are lifted.
“I don’t know the nature of all the concerns involved,” Wenger said. “The residents that have called me have not understood the nature of the proceedings and they think it involves leasing on or under their lots. That’s not the case at all — not even remotely close. Nothing will change on the surface or affect their views of the lake.”
The company’s lease bars any kind of surface activity, according to court documents.
But Michael D. Rossi, an attorney at Guarnieri and Secrest in Warren, said there are still too many unknowns. Rossi and Atty. Marty D. Nosich were called to Tuesday’s meeting to consult the property owners, answer any questions they may have and advise the group of their next steps. They have not yet been hired by the group, however.
Nosich, who has his own practice, and Rossi work together regularly. Although they don’t specialize in oil and gas law, they have about 15 similar cases in litigation.
Rossi said he believes the group has a “legal position that they may want to preserve,” but added that it’s difficult to determine how a court might rule on lifting the restrictions. He believes they were written in a vague manner for a reason — to preserve the land.
“Is there cause for concern? Sure,” Rossi said. “Somebody wants to bounce down the deed restrictions, and they want to do so for a reason. It’s not in the interest of the community or the beauty of the lake.”
It remains unclear why Eric Petroleum has targeted the 6-acre parcel to be cleared of title defects, Nosich and Rossi said. Lifting land restrictions would allow any future operator access to the mineral rights.
Just across the border in Mercer County, oil and gas companies have markedly stepped up their efforts to lease land in an area that experts believe could be rich in natural-gas liquids and oil. Early results from drilling in Lawrence and Mercer counties are only now starting to trickle in.
Other landowners around the Beachwood Estates have leased property.
Property owners in the subdivision now have less than three weeks to file a reply with the common pleas court before any further action can be taken. The group will soon hire an attorney to do so.
Wenger said these situations can sometimes be tough to resolve when so many parties are involved.