Balance still is key to drilling in Ohio

The issue: Earthquakes near injection well in Youngstown
Our view: Good science, effective regulation are critical

The economic potential of oil and gas drilling in Ohio is too big to neglect. So is the potential downside of storing wastewater from the drilling process in some deep injection wells.

Ohio has to find and maintain a balance that encourages drilling and protects the public. This will occur by relying on good science and maintaining effective government regulation and oversight.

The incidence of minor earthquakes near an injection well in Youngstown has rightly focused the attention of state officials and residents on the end result of drilling.

Millions of gallons of wastewater may be going into some wells that are not geologically compatible with storage of this brine. It may not be safe to do so, and the Department of Natural Resources has taken the only sensible precaution. It has shut down the well near the epicenter of the quakes and others within a five-mile radius until officials understand the situation.

Is there a need to ban drilling and underground storage of wastewater? No, because 176 injection wells have been used for wastewater storage elsewhere in Ohio for nearly 30 years without seismic problems. Clearly, something different is going on in Youngstown.

Is there a need to put more emphasis on seismic studies of well sites before the wells are created? Yes, because prevention is the best medicine.

Is there a need for these studies to be objective? Of course. The company that owns the Youngstown well is commissioning a geologic study. It would be better for the state to contract for the study and bill the company for the cost.

Drilling for gas and oil may create the biggest economic boom for Ohio since the best days of the steel industry. But the processes of removing gas and oil and storing the byproducts of drilling must be as safe as possible.

The earthquakes in Mahoning County will test the ability and commitment of state officials and drillers to strike this balance.

http://www.cantonrep.com/opinion/editorials/x1468792092/Balance-still-is-key-to-drilling-in-Ohio