Pigeon River Country Association Newsletter

 

Winter 2006

 

With the exception of a heavy wet snow or two, one of which melted almost as quickly as it hit the ground back in November, plus some sub-zero temperatures early in February, this winter seems to be continuing the warming trend we have been experiencing here in Michigan the past decade or so.

In fact, according to the Arbor Day organization—which advises people as to what trees and shrubs can be safely planted in any locality without being killed by winter low temperatures—most of the state of Michigan has moved one whole planting zone southward over the past decade or so.   Likewise, many of us who live close to the Pigeon River Country have noticed the increase of more southern species, such as opossum which were rarely seen, even in southern Michigan in times past.  Experts have also discovered that southern strains of such species as flying squirrels and field mice are taking over the Pigeon River Country to the exclusion of their northern cousins. And as for snow-depths, late-February found us with only 8-12” on the ground in the Pigeon, with the beginning of March snow and ice storm delayed in a day or so in its arrival.  All this is compared to last year’s 18” (two years ago it was 22” deep).   What does this all mean, in the long run, for the Forest and its wildlife?

 

Advisory Council Matters

The Pigeon River Country Advisory Council met for its final 2006 meeting on December 8^th.   Thirteen voting members were present. After the usual introductions and public comments, the first half of the meeting was taken up almost exclusively by issues involving oil and gas well development. 

        The first issue concerned plans by Song of the Morning Ranch to have Antrim shale wells drilled on its property, both in the agreed ”non-development” area of the forest east of the Pigeon River, and in the “limited development” area west of the river.   However, it was pointed out that the owners, in signing the original “consent agreement”, which bound them to the non-development restrictions, have already benefited from revenues from oil and gas production where it was permitted and that the proposal to drill east of the river would be in clear violation of that agreement.  It was also pointed out that even if Song of the Morning did succeed in obtaining permits to drill west of the river in the limited development area, the state had no intention of granting them a pipeline

route through the forest.   (It should also be noted that the PRC Association has already expressed its resolve—at last summer’s annual meeting—to, if necessary, take this matter back to court.)

Two representatives of Aurora Oil & Gas Co. were present and presented their latest plans for the expansion of their “Arrowhead” Antrim shale gas field project—centered so far on the southwest portion of Black River Ranch—westward into the former Blue Lakes Ranch area that was added to the PRC Forest in 1989.   Aurora’s plans, which had not yet been approved by either the DNR or the DEQ, call for the drilling of nineteen wells to begin with, most of them along the east side of the Blue Lakes tract, ranging from the area north of Blue Lakes Rd. and then southward along the east side of the tract as far south as Hardwood Creek, with additional wells on the private property between the creek and the Town Corner Lake state forest campground.  Many questions were directed to the Aurora representatives, among which was one regarding the possibilities of “directional drilling” most of these proposed wells from just a very few more centrally located drilling pads.

Advised of these plans prior to the Dec. 8th. meeting, the Council’s oil and gas committee proposed two resolutions for the council’s consideration.   One was that all permissions for drilling on the former Blue Lakes Tract be denied.   A Council vote on this resolution passed 12 to 1 — the dissenting vote based on the premise that this resolution is unrealistic, since the state does not own the mineral rights to most of this tract.  

The second resolution was that if the drilling on the Blue Lakes Tract cannot be avoided, that it been done only under four conditions: first, that the Advisory Council be involved in the planning process; second, that directional or horizontal drilling be considered to reduce the number of surface drilling locations; third, that all operations conform to the prior court-ordered Consent Agreement regulations governing oil & gas exploration and production within the forest; and fourth, that  any further decisions regarding drilling in the Pigeon River Country be postponed until the completion of the current update or revision of the 1973 Concept of Management.   This second resolution also passed by a 12 to 1 margin — this time the dissenting vote coming from a different council member who felt that it weakened the first resolution.  

        Other matters discussed at the December meeting included the Concept of Management update (no new announcements), the annual elk hunt (91 taken by December 8th, with 33 more being taken during the additional January hunt).   A motion to have the Tin Bridge replacement and its approaches on Grass Lake Rd. seal-coated to prevent erosion run-off into the Pigeon River passed 11 to 2.  A change in the Advisory Council meeting schedule to the third Friday of January, April, July and October passed along with the decision not to hold a January 2007 meeting unless a special need arose.    The nomination committee recommended that the present Council chair and vice-chair be kept in office for another year, and district Forestry chief Dayle Garlock reported that the formal appointment of the existing Council members should be finalized soon by the DNR Director in Lansing.   The next scheduled Advisory Council meeting is to be on April 20th.

 

More Recent Oil & Gas Developments

The Oil & Gas Committee of the Advisory Council held a meeting at the Otsego Co. Courthouse on the evening of February 28th.  First, the Committee was also assured by a representative of Merit Energy that the cleanup of the pollution left by Shell E&P at the Charleton 4 Central Processing Facility has begun on schedule.

However, the main business of this meeting was the Aurora Oil & Gas Co. plans for the Blue Lakes portion of their Arrowhead project.  Aurora’s latest plans call for the drilling of 14 exploratory “stratographic” wells, 6 north of Blue Lakes Rd. where it crosses the north end of the tract, and 8 to the south ranging to about  a half mile north of Hardwood Creek.  (Three more are also planned for the privately held land south of Hardwood Creek.) These exploratory wells are to be simply probes using water-well size drilling rigs to determine the depth to where the bed-rock begins beneath the surface.   Only when that information—which is vital for successful Antrim gas wells, which need a solid over-layer of rock which traps the gas in the shale beneath—has become established will the actual decision be made as to whether or not an actual production well would be drilled at each location.   If so, in some cases a new route to the drilling sites will be established to insure that heavy equipment traffic stays away from the river and other sensitive areas.   Special gates will be erected to replace earthen berms or other barriers to keep public vehicle traffic out of the tract during and after all these operations.  

        While the committee seemed to recognize that DEQ-DNR issuing of permits for this work to be accomplished is inevitable, despite the Advisory Council resolutions made on December 8th., feelings ran strong that the Advisory Council was in fact being excluded from the whole decision-making process.  Apprehension was expressed particularly over the development of wells in the areas adjacent to boggy wetland in the northernmost part of the tract, the placement of a “booster” pump facility at the bend of Blue Lakes Rd. in the center portion of the tract, and the extension of flow lines and plans to bore under Hardwood Creek to reach wells on private land to the south.  Again, the question was raised as to why not the use directional or even horizontal drilling to reach various locations rather than multiplying the number of drilling and production pads—especially when similar methods are being used in various locations outside the forest.  

Accordingly, an argument was made emphasizing three points:  first, that the Committee’s concern over the Council not being sufficiently involved in this planning be conveyed to the Director of the DNR and that the new “updated” Concept of Management for the Pigeon River Forest clearly include the within the Advisory Council’s concerns the newer “annexed” areas of the Pigeon River Forest; second, that a “pause” of at least 30 days be made between the drilling of exploratory wells on Blue Lakes and the decision to drill production wells in order to enable the Council to be involved; and third, that the DNR recommendations regarding the land surface use be incorporated in the DEQ drilling permits.  Finally a motion was made that any drilling permits not be issued until an environmental impact assessment on the Blue Lakes tract be carried out. However, the hour having become late, the Chairman of the Committee tabled further discussion of this motion until another Oil & Gas Committee meeting is held on March 14th. 

The meeting ended after Forest Manager Joe Jarecki said that Aurora is asking to begin the exploratory well drilling in June, and that meanwhile, the state Department of Commerce has no plans to allow a gas pipeline to be laid westward along Sturgeon Valley Rd. from Son of the Morning Ranch as long as the DNR denies permission for such a pipeline to cross state land in the PRCF.

 

Oil & Gas Update (addendum to printed Winter 2007 Newsletter— Report on March 14th. Oil & Gas Committee Meeting. 

        After the motion that was tabled at the previous meeting was taken up, another motion (changed into an amendment to that under consideration) on behalf of the PRCA, namely, that all drilling in the Blue Lakes tract be prohibited within a quarter of a mile of standing or running water unless an environmental impact assessment carried out specific to the proposed location indicated that an exception to this rule might be permissible.  In the debate as to just what an environmental impact study might reveal that is not already known, the information emerged that there is a similar  DNR recommendation regarding drilling permits involving state-owned mineral leases.  (Which in turn raises the question: why is there not a similar policy regarding issuance of drilling permits on state-owned lands, even when the mineral rights are still owned by other parties?  Since this is a matter involving surface issues, over which the DNR, and not just the DEQ, has responsibility, this question seems especially pertinent.) At this point, the combined motion narrowly passed 6 to 5.  However, the two representatives of Aurora Gas and Oil who were present explained that the proposed exploratory work was still only very tentative.  It could be, they said, that even the first stratographic well drilled in the northernmost portion of the tract might not turn out to be promising.

The Merit Energy representative turned over a lengthy document detailing the tests and work being done to clean up the contaminants that have seeped into the ground at old Shell Charleton 4 Central Processing Facility on Lost Cabin Trail.  Merit also is seeking permission to install a flow line along Sparr Rd. from a Niagaran well to be situated on state land (some 300 ft. south of Sparr Rd. about a quarter of a mile east of the corner where Tin Shanty Rd. heads northward).                                                                                                              

The proposed well and pipeline would be inside the special Consent Order territory but on land that is outside the Unit Agreement area and was designated as open to limited development.  However, the question was raised as to whether a new flowline should be allowed to enter the Consent Order territory in order to serve a well situated outside that special area.  It also became obvious that another Oil and Gas Committee meeting may be needed before the April 20th. Advisory Council meeting

 

 

Below: A map of the Blue Lakes tract in the NW corner of Montmorency Co. with the approximate location of the wells proposed by Aurora Oil & Gas Co.  State owned land is shaded. The Central Processing Facility is located farther to the east on Black River Rd.

 

 

 

Other News and Notices

We mourn the passing Ed Meany of Petoskey, a long-time PRCA member and lover of the forest and its trout-fishing opportunities.  He will be missed.  Our condolences to his wife Diane and their family.

We rejoice in the recovery and full-time return to work of Joe Jarecki as the PRCF Management Unit Director after his long illness.  In fact, he looks so good we’re wondering if chemotherapy might not turn out to be a new cure for the baldness of newsletter editors.