By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 February 5th, 2011 Category: Garrett County News

After hearing local concerns for protection, Delegate Beitzel and Senator Edwards introduced a bill that will establish regulations on Marcellus Shale natural gas exploration. The Marcellus Shale runs from West Virginia to New York and is located in Garrett and Allegany Counties, Maryland.

The bill outlines a number of issues that MDE must address. These issues include requirements relating to:

(1)   a water testing plan to ensure drinking water resources are protected, including requirements for surface well casing, grouting, and inspections;

(2)   the containment and disposal of fluid used in hydraulic fracturing processes;

(3)   the identification of all chemicals and materials used in hydraulic fracturing processes;

(4)   prohibiting the unregulated discharge of drilling materials and fluids into streams, ponds, and other bodies of water for which the discharge has not been approved by the Department; and

(5)   site reclamation and bonding.

As Garrett County’s leading real estate brokerage, we will keep you informed on all local issues.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 November 5th, 2010 Category: Garrett County News, News

Railey Realty is proud to announce that Larry Smith was recently installed as new President of the Garrett County (MD) Board of Realtors. Larry has been a full time licensed salesperson at Railey Realty for nearly 10 years. He also recently won the 2010 Realtor of the Year award. Before entering the field of real estate sales Larry previously worked at the Wisp Ski Resort and owned the Lake Breeze Motel on Deep Creek Lake with his family. Larry is the nephew of the late Helmuth Heise who founded the Wisp Ski Resort.

Also representing Railey Realty on the Garrett Board of Realtors are Mike Kennedy and Erin Strubin. Mike is continuing to serve a 3 year term as a Director on the Board of Realtors and Erin was recently elected to serve as Secretary. Both Mike and Erin are licensed salespersons with Railey Realty.

The Garrett County Board of Realtors is comprised of local Realtors committed to providing professional real estate services to all buyers and sellers. The Board closely monitors any proposed legislation and new issues that may affect real estate buyers and sellers in Garrett County and the Deep Creek Lake area.

The Board also works very closely with all local and state government to help protect property owners in regards to local real estate issues - such as lake management, property taxes, and the proposed Marcellus Shale drilling.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 June 4th, 2009 Category: Garrett County News, Garrett County Real Estate

Natural Gas Rights in Garrett County

If you currently own or are possibly considering buying real estate, raw land, or a large acreage tract in Garrett County Maryland you may be interested in a public meeting set for June 23, 2009 at Frostburg State University concerning gas rights and the drilling of natural gas in the area. This was a real hot topic in Garrett County last year as natural gas prices were extremely high. National energy companies started approaching many local property owners to either purchase or lease their gas rights. Some land owners joined together and formed large groups in order to negotiate better deals with these companies. Interest started to die down at the end of last year when natural gas prices started to decrease.

Marcellus Shale in Western Maryland

The Marcellus Shale is a sedimentary rock formation extending from southern New York across Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, and eastern Ohio extending to 9,000 feet deep in some sections, containing significant quantities of natural gas.  Extraction of the natural gas will have an extensive economic impact on the region and landowners in Garrett County.  New developments in drilling technology, along with increasing wellhead prices, have made the Marcellus Shale an important natural gas resource. The production of commercial quantities of gas from this shale requires large volumes of water to drill and hydraulically fracture the rock.  Balancing the positive economic impact of natural gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale are concerns about the availability of water supplies and questions about wastewater disposal.

An information program for the public on tapping this domestic energy source is scheduled on Tuesday, June 23, 11:30 am–1:30 pm in Compton Hall, Frostburg State University. In addition to Frostburg State University, this program is being sponsored by the Allegany & Garrett Chambers of Commerce as well as The Greater Cumberland Committee.  The information session will include presentations by Lou D’Amico with the Independent Oil & Gas Association of Pennsylvania, Stephen Trujillo, Operations Manager/Government Affairs at Samson Oil & Gas Co., Senator George Edwards, Maryland District 1, and Ed Larrimore, Program Manager with the Maryland Department of the Environment.

The cost of this program is $20 per person, which includes lunch.  Seating is limited; reservations must be made by June 16 by contacting Linda Steele at lsteele@frostburg.edu or 301-687-4137.

(Paul Durham contributed to this report)