Halcon Resources Corp. will begin seismic testing to find Utica Shale oil and gas deposits in six townships of Mahoning County, OH, after local officials there approved a one-year road use maintenance agreement with the company.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has approved Halcon’s plans to drill and install a gathering system in neighboring Trumbull County, OH, while a federal appeals court has remanded a landowner lawsuit against Halcon back to a Pennsylvania state court.

Houston-based Halcon will have seismic tests performed in Austintown, Berlin, Canfield, Ellsworth, Jackson and Milton townships, according to the Youngstown Vindicator. Halcon has hired Front Runner Seismic Inc., which has offices in Westfield, PA, and Denver, to perform the seismic testing.

The seismic testing was made possible after Mahoning County Commissioners approved the road plan, which calls for Halcon to pay the county and the six townships about $600 per mile for occupancy of the roads during testing, and to repair any road damages during the seismic testing. The company has posted a $100,000 bond to the county, and $50,000 bonds to each of the six affected townships. Halcon will reportedly pay $500,000 for road repairs in Jackson Township alone.

Mahoning County officials and representatives for Halcon and Front Runner could not be reached for comment Monday.

On Friday, the USACE’s Pittsburgh District issued a draft version of a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) document, stating that the SRC Pipeline Project, which is proposed by Halcon Field Services LLC, would not impact the Shenango Wildlife Area in Trumbull County.

The SRC Pipeline Project would connect Halcon’s Brugler well pad in Trumbull County with a proposed gathering system in neighboring Mercer County, PA. According to the USACE, the project will include installing a 16-inch diameter pipeline beneath federal land.

“Upon completion of the proposed project, the gathering line will serve to transport natural gas that is extracted within the region,” the USACE said. After conducting an environmental assessment of the project, which is required under the National Environmental Policy Act, the agency “concluded that the action had no significant adverse impacts to natural and cultural resources.”

The agency said the draft FONSI document for the project will be available to the public at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library for 30 days, beginning on Sept. 10.

Last month, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit agreed with a lower court ruling that a class action lawsuit landowners filed against Halcon Energy Properties Inc. should be remanded to a courtroom at the county level, citing the Class Action Fairness Act.

On April 4, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania said the case Vodenichar et al. v. Halcon Energy Properties et al. should be remanded to the Court of Common Pleas of Mercer County, PA, on the grounds that the case did not qualify for a “local controversy” exception. The higher court concurred on Aug. 16.

The landowners in the case allege Halcon breached the terms of their oil and gas leases.

Halcon holds about 142,000 net acres in the Utica Shale, in both Ohio and Pennsylvania (see Shale Daily, Aug. 5). During a conference call to discuss 2Q2013 earnings, CEO Floyd Wilson said Halcon held an area “that’s proven to be productive” in Ohio’s Mahoning and Trumbull counties, and in Pennsylvania’s Mercer and Venango counties.

Although Wilson declined to reveal the precise number of acres the company holds in each of the aforementioned counties, he did say the company was drilling on 160-acre spacing.