The full, hour-long version of our radio series, a compilation of all seven parts. Push play to listen or right click the text below to download. Fractured Appalachia – Full Length Documentary For a century, central Appalachia has been synonymous with coal. In the past few years, however, our area »
Pt. I: Geology In our first episode, we begin our documentary series by starting at the bottom, with the rocks underneath our feet. What exactly is under the ground of eastern Kentucky and southwest Virginia that has attracted all the attention? And how is it brought to the surface? »
Pt. II: The Landman The first contact people have with the gas industry is often a meeting with a landman. Land agents, generally men, work for gas companies, usually as independent contractors. Their job is to get landowners to sell companies the rights to put in gas wells and pipelines. »
Pt. III: Get a Lawyer In this installment, we’ll hear about both the importance and the difficulty of soliciting legal advice before signing a lease for natural gas. »
Pt. IV: Forced Pooling In this episode, we’ll hear about the legal arrangements that govern the royalties that people receive from natural gas extracted from their land. This episode focuses primarily on Virginia, but touches on issues affecting any community where gas extraction is occurring. »
Pt. V: Drilling In this piece, we look at how a gas well is drilled, using technology developed within the last five years, as well as some of the things that can then happen when a well goes in. »
Pt. VI: Regulations In this episode, we take a look at what regulations exist surrounding oil and gas extraction in central Appalachia, a bit of the history of how they got that way, and how these regulations are enforced. »
Pt. VII: Economy So often, when a natural resource is being developed, we hear of a two-sided debate–it’s jobs versus the environment, and you can’t have both. In this piece, we want to look at this dichotomy as it pertains to natural gas development in the coalfields of east Kentucky »
