TERRE HAUTE —
The sight of oil-drilling company contractors outside Dobbs Park on Poplar Street near Indiana 46 raised environmental concerns Friday. But the project does not involve drilling on park property, Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett and CountryMark officials said.
Instead, the workers were involved in testing a pool already in production on the Hulman family’s property a mile to the east,
Rick Sumner, vice president of exploration at CountryMark, was also quick to clarify that workers were not testing inside the city’s nature park, rather along the right-of-way.
The company plans to add more wells on the Hulman property, which he said contains one of the largest finds in Indiana since the early 1970s. To test the size of the pool, the company uses seismic equipment which sends vibrations into the ground. Measurements are then taken from a distance, he explained. Similar shots were taken from U.S. 40 and Indiana 42, he said.
Permits to conduct these tests were all arranged in advance from the proper agencies, Sumner said. “We do things right is the bottom line,” he said.
Bennett was initially unaware of the project Friday morning, but went to the park personally after receiving calls about oil contractors there.
“It has nothing to do with us,” he said, later confirming that the operation was in accord.
Bennett confirmed that CountryMark had in fact applied for permits to conduct work in the city’s right-of-way, but none were needed because of the nature of the activities. No digging or other invasive procedure was undertaken. Instead, the tests involved seismic mapping of the existing pool, which originates east of Indiana 46 on the Hulmans’ land, he said.
The city, he added, can’t drill or access mineral rights on Dobbs Park regardless. That property was granted to the city by the family of John G. Dobbs, and the covenants regarding its preservation as a nature park are strictly worded in the deed.
According to information provided by the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department, the John G. Dobbs Memorial Grove Nature Preserve was qualified for dedication under the Nature Preserve Act on May 1, 1969.
The property’s master plan also contains language governing such developments, including line No. 13, “Except as provided in this Master Plan, (a) there shall be no removal or use of any natural material, product or object in the Preserve and (b) there shall be no intentional introduction of any material product or object into the Preserve.”
Bennett said the city has been approached by developers in the past, and those interests have been rebuffed, for reasons both legal and environmental.
Sumner said CountryMark is a farmer-owned Indiana company and has no interest in destroying a nature park.
“Because we’re farmer-owned, we have a special respect for the land,” he said, adding the testing will be done this weekend. “Once we’re out of there, no one will ever know we were in there. We will leave no footprint, and we will not disturb the environment.”
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Only a test: Testing equipment lies along Poplar Street outside the border of Dobbs Park on Friday afternoon. Workers were involved in testing a pool of underground oil already in production on the Hulman family’s property a mile to the east.
Discussion
Company testing size of oil pool
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