NEWS GEOR GE PR ENTIC E
Geophone listening devices, attached to long cables, will detect sound waves sent through the ground by a separate set of seismic cables, crisscrossing each other over 50 square miles.
team also unveiled a Plan B to capture subsurface images, just in case the sonograms don’t produce a clear picture. “My guess is that 85 percent will be vibroseised,” said McLeod. “We’ll dynamite the rest.” Anyone who may have nodded off during the presentation quickly snapped awake when McLeod and McNeill began describing an explosive scenario where “shot holes,” 4 inches in diameter and 40 feet deep, will be drilled and loaded with dynamite. “You’ll feel a thump,” said McLeod. “Each charge is approximately 2.2 pounds.” Explosives and earth-shaking equipment resulted in more than a few questions, primarily regarding safety, from the landowners. “Don’t worry, the dynamite can’t be set off by a fire or anything else. It can only be set off electronically,” said McNeill. When pressed on a hypothetical scenario in which the dynamite could not even detonate electronically, McLeod conceded that unused dynamite would “probably dissolve into the ground.” “But if we encountered a series of problems with the detonations, we would probably shut down temporarily and re-drill the holes,” said McLeod. Thumping aside, farmers wanted a clearer idea of what kind of vibrations they and their livestock would be feeling from the seismic waves generated through the geophone cables. “If the Earth moves more than half-an-inch per second, that’s usually enough to break up some drywall,” said McNeill. “Our cut-off point is one-third of an inch per second.” McNeill said his crews would not be hauling much of their seismic equipment in and out of Payette farmland with any regularity. “The major equipment will be dropped in by helicopter and then flown out when we’re done,” said McNeill. “You’ll be seeing our helicopter quite a bit instead of us driving all over the place.” McNeill also insisted that the seismic operations would be what he called “a safe disWWW. B OISEWEEKLY.C O M
tance away” from public and private utilities. “For example, we’ll be a minimum of 300 feet away from dams and water wells, 150 feet away from roads and power lines, and 100 feet away from telephone lines,” he said. Lyla Scheihing had both personal and public concerns. She’s not only a Payette County Planning and Zoning commissioner but also negotiated a personal lease for possible gas exploration on her property. “What if there was any crop damage during the seismic operation?” asked Scheihing. “I have never, ever been on a job where something damaged wasn’t paid for,” answered McNeill. Safety concerns aside, Richard Brown, president of Snake River Oil and Gas, was upbeat. Brown’s company has signed scores of leases with Payette County landowners in hopes of drilling for gas once his team completes its 3D imaging. “We want people to smile about this, not grimace,” said Brown. “This is a very risky business for us but we’re very excited. We’re as passionate about this as anything we’ve ever done.” McNeill assured landowners that the seismic operation would bring a major financial shot-in-the-arm to Payette County. “We’re guessing that $596,355 will be pumped into your local economy,” he said. “Our crew members will probably spend $10,000 a week in your town.” McLeod said approximately 100 jobs would be generated by the eight-week operation but things can’t get under way until the Idaho Department of Lands completes the appropriate paperwork. “We’ve received some of the application but not the whole thing,” said Eric Wilson, IDOL mineral programs manager. “The permits will need to be in place before they begin their shoot.” “You mean before they begin their vibroseising,” said Hawk. “Oh, yes, vibroseising,” said a corrected Wilson.
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