U.S. NEWS July 26, 2012, 7:34 p.m. ET
Counties Struggle to Repair Damage From Heavy Trucks in Texas
Energy Boom Article
County officials across Texas are struggling to patrol and maintain once-isolated country roads and bridges that are now teeming with trucks hauling materials to and from the state's proliferating gas and oil wells. Oil and gas output in Texas is exploding, and construction of every new well requires the transportation of as much as a thousand truckloads of material and equipment, each weighing up to 80,000 pounds.
Other states, such as Pennsylvania and Louisiana, have been grappling for some time with the wear and tear on their rural roads from the national drilling boom. "These roads weren't designed for the type of traffic that is coming through," said Joel Rodriguez, chief administrator of LaSalle County, which recently reached a settlement over road damage with energy firms. "The asphalt is wearing out, you've got ripples and potholes, and the shoulders are being torn off." The cost of building up the county's 230 miles of rudimentary roads to withstand the inflow of drilling-related traffic exceeds $100 million, he estimated. The entire budget of LaSalle County, southwest of San Antonio,, in the heart of South Texas's Eagle Ford Shale, is about $6 million.
The surge in drilling activity is generating a windfall for the state. Energy-production taxes collected by the state comptroller from September 2011 through June 2012 jumped some 50% to $3.1 billion, compared with the same period a year earlier. But county governments, which collect only property and sometimes sales taxes, aren't benefiting nearly as much, because Texas laws effectively limit tax-revenue increases to less than 8% a year, said Lonnie Hunt, a spokesman for the Texas Association of Counties. Counties with surging tax collections usually end up lowering tax rates, he said. The Texas Department of Transportation estimates that renovating the state-maintained rural routes known as farm-to-market roads to accommodate drilling traffic would cost $1 billion a year, roughly one-third of the agency's current road-maintenance budget. It says fixing county roads, for which the department isn't responsible, would cost another billion dollars. "This oil and gas activity will be ongoing for the next 20 to 30 years, and maybe even longer," said John Barton, the transportation department's deputy executive director. "This type of traffic volume is something we need to be prepared to address."
Deb Hastings, executive vice president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, said the industry is aware of the wear that drilling activity is causing. "We are definitely at the table hoping to find a workable solution."
Other states have experienced similar surges in drilling—and heavy traffic—as a result of new technologies that have made oil and natural gas deep inside rock formations accessible. They report pressures on their thoroughfares, too, and have come up with some ways to restore them. Pennsylvania, part of which sits atop the Marcellus Shale, requires drillers to take out a bond to serve as insurance in case of road damage. Some companies choose to refurbish whole stretches before they send in any trucks, because it's "easier and cheaper," said Dennis Buterbaugh, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
After the Haynesville Shale attracted a drilling rush to DeSoto Parish in northwest Louisiana, local officials created an ordinance under which gas firms must mend seriously deteriorated roadways or risk losing permits.
In Texas's DeWitt County, south of Austin, where drilling permits so far this year are up 50% from the same period last year, some energy firms chip in for road repairs, said County Judge Daryl Fowler. County crews recently patched up a 3.5-mile stretch with donated gravel, keeping the cost to $250,000. The county has 394 miles of deteriorated roads to fix. "We just don't have the revenue to do it," Mr. Fowler said. "The only way that we can repair the damage is to raise taxes here on our local citizens or plead for voluntary donations from the drilling companies."
A task force of county officials and oil companies created by the transportation department earlier this year is trying to come up with proposals for the Texas lawmakers on how to raise the needed money. State Rep. Ryan Guillen, chairman of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism, said he is working to line up support for a solution when the legislature reconvenes next January.
In nearby Karnes County, which until recently was sparsely populated, officials say they can't keep up with the flow of 18-wheelers, which regularly drive on the county's bridges despite load-limit signs. To increase patrols, the sheriff's department has bulked up to 15 deputies from six, and bought SUVs to replace the department's traditional cars, because Ford Crown Victorias "can't get down some of these roads," said Sheriff David Jalufka.
Farther south, in Jim Wells County, the environmental-crimes officer hired to combat tire dumping and overgrown lawns said he now spends more than half of his time policing trucks hauling drilling-site waste. One big problem, according to Officer Hector Zertuche, is leaks of drilling fluid known as "mud," which can create hazardous slicks on the roads.