A closer examination of forced pooling and its effect on property rights

CAPITAL DOMES: HEAD TO HEAD

Brouillette: Forced pooling and Diet Coke

We all know that drinking Diet Coke is better for maintaining our weight than drinking "The Real Thing." But should government force us to drink what is better for us in our batt�e with the bulge? Of course not; freedom of choice includes the freedom to choose poorly. Yet the arguments for forced pooling in the extraction of natural gas are the same as those who would outlaw sugary cola.

Forced pooling would require landowners to allow a natural gas drilling company to capture the natural gas under their property - against their will - if a majority of homeowners (three-fourths, according to one …