MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox wants natural gas drilling companies to anticipate and pay for the wear and tear they're causing West Virginia's country roads, many of which have "more or less evolved from a mere wagon trail."

But at least one industry official complains the new rules — issued in an Aug. 4 memo and reaching gas companies this week — are vague, unreasonable and potentially too expensive for some to bear.

"These go well above and beyond what is necessary to safeguard roadways in the state, and we are assessing our response," said Charlie Burd, executive director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia.

Gas companies have no choice but to rely on rural roads as they rush to tap the rich Marcellus shale reserves. But residents are frustrated by both the volume of traffic and damage, Mattox wrote, and so are county road crews whose budgets are geared toward regular maintenance, not major repairs and construction.

His memo requires gas project planners to meet with local highway supervisors and agree on various obligations for widening, paving and drainage — before, during and after a drilling job.

Companies would have to post road-repair bonds ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 per mile, depending on whether the road is topped with gravel, tar and chip, or pavement. Those amounts could increase if bridges are in the agreed-upon truck routes.

"Let's say you were 10 miles off the main highway to a well site. That's a million-dollar bond. The bond's more than three times as much as the well," Burd said.

Marcellus shale underlies Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, and drilling is in high gear in both Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. The gas is locked in tightly compacted rock a mile underground, and freeing it requires unconventional horizontal drilling technologies and vast amounts of water.

That means traffic in the form of trucks carrying large equipment and water on roads not built to withstand the weight or damage.