Lobby the Forest Service to not allow leasing of Wayne forest for fracking

To the Editor:

This letter is intended for Anne Carey, supervisor of the Wayne National Forest.

Hello, Ms. Carey, I understand the Forest Service has yet to decide whether or not to lease acreage to the BLM for fracking along the Hocking River. Can this be true? If so, what on earth is there to decide? It seems to me to be a no-brainer!

The Forest Service received a barrage of letters from local citizens, including Ohio University President McDavis, reminding the Forest Service that the Hocking is the drinking water source for the region, not to mention providing water for crops. Athens city gets ALL of its water supply from wells in unconsolidated river aquifers.

Athens County is a model nationwide for a growing, sustainable, local food system. Have you been to the Athens Farmers Market? If you haven't, please do yourself a favor.

Fracking involves the use of carcinogenic chemicals such as benzene and other unnamed chemicals/poisons. It uses MILLIONS of gallons of water. Imagine huge trucks 24/7 taking the contaminated, irradiated water away. Just supposing an accident happens and a truckload spills into the river? Then what?

Recall the truckload of toluene (similar to benzene) that spilled into the creek near Millfield in the early '80s? Fortunately, it was a warm day and it rolled into foam; had it been cold that day, it would have gone into the creek as a liquid. Fracking near the Hocking River would be MONUMENTALLY stupid. I urge you to nip this one while it's still in the bud!

I encourage any/all of you reading this to write a letter to her with your feeling/opinion about this issue:

Anne Carey, supervisor

Wayne National Forest

13700 U.S. Rt. 33

Nelsonville, OH 45764

http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-36804-lobby-the-forest-service-to-not-allow-leasing-of-wayne-forest-for-fracking.html

Trustee board wonders: Will law allow OU to say no to fracking?

OU legal and financial officials told members of the Board of Trustees Thursday that while the university is trying to stake out a position that it can veto any attempt to drill for oil and gas on its land, they don't know for sure whether state regulators will read a new law that way.

Ohio Substitute House Bill 133, which changed the rules on drilling for oil and gas on state-owned lands, is "very vague," Nicolette Dioguardi, OU associate director of legal affairs, told the board.

She said that based on the wording of the law, university officials believe they will have the last word on whether to allow drilling on OU-owned land, and they plan to assert that position. Whether the state will agree with that stance or not, however, remains to be seen, she suggested.

State regulators have interpreted a similar law, H.B. 278, as barring local governments from regulating oil and gas drilling operations in municipal or county limits in any way.

Stephen Golding, OU's vice president for finance and administration, however, echoed Dioguardi's assessment, saying the university will act on the assumption that it can say no to drilling if it so chooses.

"I would say that we are taking that position," Golding said, though he, like Dioguardi, said it's still unclear how the state will interpret the dictates of the new law.

"We're trying to do a delicate balancing act, if you will," he explained. "There are no rules… We are staking out a position. The question is, will that position be upheld?"

Dioguardi added that the board has a "window of opportunity" prior to June 30, to enter into leases under the terms it wants with any drilling companies. After that, the new commission process will kick in.

The state of Ohio is currently being eyed by the oil-and-gas industry for possible widespread drilling for oil and/or natural gas in deep underground shale beds, using the controversial "horizontal hydraulic fracturing" technique. It's popularly known as "fracking."

However, recent maps released by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources showing the prime Utica shale prospects in Ohio exclude Athens County from that area. Experts, though, seem to agree that nobody will know the local oil and gas resources until someone drills one or more exploratory wells. No permit applications for any such wells have been filed for Athens County.

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Rules on drilling in parks got more lenient

A year ago, state officials considered creating rules for oil and gas drilling rigs in state parks that were much more stringent than the rules they now have proposed.

The rigs would have had to have been placed at least 1,500 feet from campgrounds; 1,200 feet from lakes, streams and drinking-water wells; and 900 feet from trails, picnic areas and sites of historic value, under rules discussed in May, according to documents released yesterday.

Two weeks ago, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources released proposed rules that would keep the rigs at least 300 feet from most of those areas.

Information about the previous discussions comes from emails and documents that were shared among agency officials drafting mineral-rights leases and drilling guidelines for parks and other state lands.

Other emails contained a list of state parks, forests and wildlife areas in eastern Ohio that could have been offered to drilling companies as early as January. That never happened.

Officials also shared copies of draft leases and drilling guidelines with an Ohio-based oil and gas company — Chagrin Falls-based Reserve Energy Exploration Co. — in November.

“We look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions,” wrote Gene Wells, the agency’s real-estate administrator, in a Nov. 4, 2011, email to Joseph W. Haas of Reserve Energy. The Sierra Club’s Ohio chapter had asked to see the same leases in October. The environmental advocacy group then filed a lawsuit on April 9 demanding to see the public records.The Dispatch asked to see them this spring. “These emails confirm my earlier suspicion that ODNR has been consulting with the oil and gas industry on their rules all along,” said Jed Thorp, manager of the Sierra Club’s Ohio chapter.

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Opposition to Fracking in Virginia

Many Virginians support a ban on the controversial practice of hydrofracking in the George Washington National Forest.

Hydrofracking, more commonly known as just fracking, is a process of horizontally drilling for natural gas by pumping chemicals, sand and water to separate the gas from the rock.

The National Forest Service has been weighing whether or not to allow the practice in the George Washington National Forest as it weighs a new management plan for the land.

The Forest Service had a public comment period to solicit input and received 6,700 comments from Virginians.

The Shenandoah Valley Network and the Land, Air Water Stewardship Action Group analyzed the comments and say 70% of the comments support a ban on the drilling.

The Community Alliance for Preservation in Rockingham County also supports a ban on hydrofracking pointing to use of the national forest land for drinking water and recreation.

Executive Director Kim Sandum says "It's an inappropriate location. It's the source of our drinking water. It's the area where lots of recreation opportunities happen. Hunting, fishing, hiking. And those uses are incompatible with hydrofracking."

Sandum says she's not surprised by the number of Virginian's in opposition to fracking.

"It just shows how many people enjoy the National Forest and I'm not surprised that that many - I would think maybe even more - would be interested in having the ban because of the other uses that would be prohibited," Sandum said.

Of the nearly million acres that are in the George Washington National Forest, nearly half of them are on the Marcellus shale formation, which is a very large deposit of natural gas.

http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/Opposition_to_Fracking_in_Virginia__148675355.html

300-foot buffer proposed for Ohio park drilling

An Ohio natural resource agency's proposed guidelines for drilling in state parks would require natural gas and oil companies to stay at least 300 feet -- the length of a football field -- from campgrounds, certain waterways and sites deemed historically or archaeologically valuable.

Documents on proposed guidelines were released by the state Department of Natural Resources this week after the Ohio chapter of the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit claiming the agency ignored repeated requests by the group to review them.

The 89-page report lists the "best management practices" on site restoration and other topics, and guidelines for emergency and pollution incidents. Other proposals include state approval before companies could store drilling waste in pits and an agreement on the locations of all drilling equipment.

The agency also released proposals for drilling leases. They show possible arrangements for companies interested in drilling directly below or drilling horizontally from land adjacent to property with oil and gas deposits.

Agency spokesman Carlo LoParo, who said the 300-foot buffer proposal would be applied above ground, said there are no specific policy decisions yet on what state land will be put up for competitive bids for drilling. But he emphasized that hundreds of other state properties besides state parks would be considered. He said a five-member commission that will be appointed later this summer will select the properties and lease the mineral rights, though the state can move forward with plans before the commission is appointed.

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Ohio Fracking: State Agency Proposes Rules For Drilling In State Parks

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A state natural resource agency's proposed rules for drilling in state parks would require natural gas and oil companies to stay at least 300 feet — the length of a football field — from campgrounds, certain waterways and sites deemed historically or archaeologically valuable.

Documents on proposed rules were released by the state Department of Natural Resources this week after the Ohio chapter of the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit claiming the agency ignored repeated requests by the group to review them.

The proposals for drilling leases also includes an 89-page report listing "best management practices" on topics like site restoration and guidelines for emergency and pollution incidents. Other proposals include state approval before companies could store drilling waste in pits and an agreement on the locations of all drilling equipment.

Eastern Ohio is in the midst of a natural gas boom as developers seek to capture rights to Utica Shale deposits. The state passed a law in September that opened its parks and other state-held lands for drilling, and officials have been developing leasing terms for drilling companies.

Opponents say they're concerned about the environmental impact of the drilling, which includes hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." The process involves drillers blasting millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to break up rock deposits.

Supporters of the law say there's a potentially vast reservoir of oil and gas in the Utica Shale, which lies below the Marcellus Shale, where oil companies in Pennsylvania have drilled thousands of wells in search of natural gas and oil.

But natural gas drilling has become a contentious issue in Pennsylvania, where public health advocates have criticized a new law that will limit accessible medical information on illnesses that may be related to gas drilling. It takes effect April 14.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than 130 bills have been recently introduced in 24 states to address fracking. It includes a range of topics like waste treatment, disposal regulations and requirements to publicly disclose the composition of fracturing fluid chemicals. At least nine states have proposed fracking suspensions or studies on their impact.

It's unclear whether the 300-foot buffer rule in Ohio will be applied above ground or below. A message left for a natural resource agency spokesman was not immediately returned Thursday morning.

Jed Thorp, the Sierra Club's Ohio chapter manager, said the proposals are inadequate. He said he's hopeful state lawmakers will eventually reverse the law.

"When people go to a state park, they don't want to see fracking, or hear fracking, or smell fracking," he said in a statement. "They want to relax."

Thorp also said the Sierra Club, which filed its lawsuit Monday, won't drop its suit. He said the agency failed to follow the state's public records law by ignoring requests for the documents as far back as October.

Mohican Advocates oppose fracking

MANSFIELD -- The Mohican State Park, Malabar Farm State Park, Mohican Memorial State Forest and Pleasant Hill Lake continue to be threatened with drilling for oil, fracking and commercial logging operations.

The Ohio State Legislature voted in 2011 to make it possible for the state to lease out the state parks and forests for such operations.

"We think that was a terrible mistake and we're going to try to get them to reverse themselves," Eric Miller, a member of the Mohican Advocates, a grassroots group of volunteers working to preserve the state parks, said Saturday at Gorman Nature Center.

About 100 people attended the rally.

Miller said the ''terrible mistake'' is that Ohio has relatively few state parks and they play an important role in the quality of peoples' lives.

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