BRUNSWICK – It is an issue with no immediate connection to Brunswick, but a panel discussion on slick water high volume hydrofracking drew a full house to Brunswick City Hall Jan. 20.
“There are none planned that I am aware of, but I am hearing a lot about fracking and I only have a basic understanding of it,” said At-large Councilman Ron Falconi, one of number of administration, council, commission and trustee representatives from the city, Brunswick Hills Township and Medina County attending the meeting. “I think it’s good to have discussions like this between the two sides in order to educate the public.”
Speakers included Ron Prosek of the Network for Oil and Gas Accountability and Protection; Ohio State Representative Dave Hall (R-97); Jack Shaner, deputy director and director of legislation and public affairs for environmental advocacy group Ohio Environmental Council; and Medina County Commissioner Adam Friedrick.
Friedrick gave an overview of the county’s efforts to oversee and regulate the hydrofracking industry within the county.
Hydrofracking is the process of extracting natural gas and oil from deep shale formations by drilling up to 8,000 feet down and as far as two miles out vertically into shale formations, then injecting water, sand and various chemicals into the pipes to crack the shale and reach the natural gas and oil contained within the shale.
Though a deep injection disposal well, and not hydrofracking, was the reported cause of a minor earthquake in the Youngstown area on New Years Eve, drilling opponents point to such incidents as the primary impetus for further regulations on the industry as a whole.
“We wanted to be as proactive as we could and make sure we could regulate anything in our jurisdiction as much as we could,” Friedrick said of the formation of the countywide Shale Initiative Committee, made up of county officials in departments such as the county recorders office and economic and workforce development, which work directly with the oil and gas exploration industry.
That industry, panelists explained, is currently regulated entirely at the state level, with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources the legislative body charged with both promoting the development of gas and oil and enforcing the rules and regulations controlling it. When those two concepts conflict, Prosek said, the state “invariably comes down on the side of the oil and gas industry.”
“That is why I refer to the ODNR as a ‘captured’ agency,” Prosek said “It’s not because I have any animus with the people who work there, but the system is working for the industry.”
Prosek read from a case study from Wetzel County West Virginia, where Chesapeake Energy reportedly leveled ridge tops and erected well heads as close as 200 feet from neighboring farms.
“Residents reported clouds of noxious gas, illegal plumbing, noise and diesel gas fumes 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Prosek said. “This hydrofracking does not even approach what has been done in Ohio since the 1950s, and while there are about a dozen wells in Ohio now, there are permits for 100 and up to 100,000 wells planned for. But the solution lies with you – communities deciding they are not going to allow fracking and deciding they are going to ban it.”
Hall, who sits on the state local government, finance and agriculture/natural resources committees, said the state has made headway on the issues through efforts such as a moratorium placed specifically on injection wells in Youngstown and legislation such as Senate Bill 165, which tightens regulations on fracking.
“Hydrofracking has gone on in Ohio since the 1950s, and now we are hearing a lot about horizontal hydrofracking,” said Hall, a former county commissioner and parks and recreation director. “And we are addressing the safety of drilling on the water shelf.”
Granger Township resident Mark Mangan presented the most visually compelling evidence of the negative effects of fracking in the form of a milk jug filled with black sludge.
“Two gas wells near my house turned my house into a bomb,” Mangan said, holding up the jug. “This is my water; the ODNR tested it and said it was safe to drink.”
While this incident took place in 2008, and Mangan has since put in a cistern at his home that has ostensibly corrected the contaminated water issue, Mangan said several of his neighbors still have similar natural gas drilling-related problems.
Hall said that such concerns have led to legislation like SB 165.
Shaner said that while it is a “leading advocate for fresh air, clean water and sustainable land use,” the goals of the Ohio Environmental Council seek to control gas and oil exploration efforts, not necessarily ban it altogether.
“My question is not ‘should we have oil?’ but rather, are we safely developing using and dispensing oil and gas,” Shaner said. “But you don’t have to listen to me – a subcommittee report to the United States Secretary of Energy said 30 percent of natural gas is coming from horizontal deep shale development, so yes we should be doing it. But that report also contained 20 suggestions to ensure that we safely and responsibly develop it.”
Shaner likened the situation to that of the automobile industry.
“No one would argue that the automobile is great, but it also contributes to pollution and risks to life and limb,” he said. “So should we ban them, or say ‘take off speed limits and let them roar’? That is nonsense. We are America and what we do in these cases is try to find the sweet spot between the two extremes.”
Falconi said that while hydrofracking “sounds like something that could be beneficial to the community” in terms of economic development, “we of course have to protect the rights of people in our community who still get their water from wells.”
“I think we are at the very early stages of this industry and there are many concerns,” Falconi said. “But I think people are taking steps to address those concerns; things like SB 165 and communities having meetings like this.”
Contact Lisik at (216) 986-2356