BURLESON CO. CONSIDERING HIGHER ROAD PERMIT FEES FOR OIL COMPANIES

  

Burleson County may potentially raise the amount it charges to oil companies to keep up with rising costs for road repairs.

During a workshop last week, Burleson County Commissioners discussed a 50 percent increase to the county’s charge per oil well that is located on a county road or highway.  Since 2015, the county has billed oil companies $8,000 for each well, but is now looking at increasing that amount to $12,000.

Funding from the fees, which are assessed through a special road use permit, is used to fix and maintain roads affected by oilfield traffic.  The road use permit system allows counties to ask the oil companies to donate instead of having the companies go through a more costly bond process.

Burleson County Judge Keith Schroeder said the $8,000 fee worked well for several years, but costs have risen considerably since then.  He said he and Precinct 1 Commissioner Dwayne Faust have met with officials from Chesapeake Energy and Wildfire Energy Operating concerning the increased fees, and both companies indicated the fees were reasonable.

Commissioners ultimately took no action on the potential increase and will wait to do so at a future meeting.