Issues

The recent oil and gas exploration activity has had a negative affect on some of our county-maintained roads.

The heavy trucks which move the drilling rigs; the tankers which haul the water and fuel; and the service trucks are heavier than what the road base was designed for when they were built 50 or 60 years ago.

The deterioration is obvious and the problem is costly to fix. The 2009 county budget allocated an additional $90,000 into each precinct to alleviate the problem, but it is not enough.

What we need is a comprehensive effort to engage the exploration companies and have them recognize they are partly responsible for the degradation of the roads.

It is in their best interests to keep the roads safe and secure and build goodwill in the county. So, I propose a meeting with the management of the companies with the specific goal of laying out our arguments and having them agree to sharing the expense of repair.

While this may sound far-fetched, I have reason to believe it will work based on some investigation I have been conducting on my own in the last couple of months. I believe we can improve our road conditions and the secure the safety of our citizens with the oil companies willingly cooperating to the effort.

One company, Pioneer Natural Resources, owns 20% of the mineral wealth in the county. They are our number one top taxpayer. It is in their best interest to be a good neighbor. GeoSouthern and Petrohawk have expressed a desire to be good neighbors when it comes to this subject.

If we do not take advantage of the generosity and willingness to keep our roads safe while this oil and gas boom is ongoing, the inflated cost of rebuilding will far to the real property owners when the exploration plays out in the future.

This effort is a high priority with me. It is a public safety issue. I am glad to see the commissioners court dealing with the issue in 2010.

***Additional material related to the Eagle Ford Shale and Barnett Shale will be added soon.