A New Lease on Life: Documenting the Relationship Between Low-Income Landowners and Their Fracking Lease Agreements

McCarthy, Rachel

A New Lease on Life: Documenting the Relationship Between Low-Income Landowners and Their Fracking Lease Agreements

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/34420

Author(s)

McCarthy, Rachel

Date Issued

April 30, 2013

Abstract

Hydrofracking has exploded onto the political scene in recent years due to the invention of fracking methods that allow drills to mine for natural gas in places that were, before, inaccessible. This fracking surge has particularly impacted Pennsylvania residents due to the presence of the Marcellus Shale underneath much of the state. Landowners possessing the mineral rights to their land have been approached by hydrofracking companies that seek to lease their land in order to search for and/or drill for natural gas. This project seeks to understand the leasing agreements between landowners and companies and critically assess the benefits and drawbacks to the formation and implementation of these agreements. It will do so by examining the process of forging a lease agreement, examining common aspects that reappear within leases and by speaking with the leaseholders themselves. Interviews were conducted with the landowners who were leasing or thinking about leasing their land; these personal testimonies were then incorporated into my final project. A website was then created to host my findings. This website serves to provide potential leaseholders with basic information regarding the process and more general information about fracking.

First Reader(s)

Darby, Kate