Energy Development In PA Yields Glut Of Trees?

Katie Colaneri

Recent Stories

Katie Colaneri is a reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania and WHYY in Philadelphia covering energy and the environment. Before joining StateImpact, Katie worked as an investigative and enterprise reporter at WBGO in Newark, New Jersey. She covered some of New Jersey's biggest stories including the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, as well as the day-to-day triumphs and struggles to revitalize state's largest city. A native of New Jersey with roots in South Central Pennsylvania, Katie holds a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College.

September 23, 2013 | 9:55 AM

Turns out, natural gas isn’t the only product of energy development in Pennsylvania that’s having a tough time making it to market.
Tree clearing for well pads, pipelines and power lines has also produced an excess of lumber, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.
More from the Times-Tribune:

As the housing market makes a plodding rebound and prices across all wood grades edge up, the logs remain on property, stranded by the urgency of utilities and gas companies to get their energy delivered and the mounting cost of moving logs to market.
The irony is that utilities and gas companies often have the timber appraised and compensate property owners for the value of the timber they remove or at least take that value into consideration in negotiations with property owners. Even though they pay for the value, they leave it there for the landowner.