Oberlin Students Arrested After Protesting Fracking

When college students gear up for a road trip, that usually means a trunkful of beer and a backseat full of misappropriated sorority girls.

But over at Oberlin College, where the student body is known as much for its activism as its handsome selection of black turtlenecks, five kids took a less frivolous trip that still ended in the classic way: with everybody getting their asses arrested.

The Oberlin Five paid a visit to Youngstown last week to protest the hydraulic fracturing that’s become quite the outrage there of late. The area is particularly contentious in light of the seven earthquakes experts claim have taken place there this year, which critics say take the fun out of groundwater contamination common at fracking sites.

The students blocked the path of giant trucks carrying wastewater to the fracking site of D&L Energy. They were charged with disorderly conduct, but freed in time for soy lattes back home the next day.
“There are four wells in Ohio and many more permits in progress,” says Ben Shapiro, an Oberlin grad who spearheaded the field trip. “There are permits under way for hydrofracking as near as Broadview Heights. If you poison water anywhere, we’re all downstream here in Cleveland.”

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/12/07/oberlin-students-arrested-after-protesting-fracking

EPA cites fracking as possible pollution source in Wyoming

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency   has said for the first time that fracking could have caused groundwater pollution in Wyoming, but state officials there apparently are challenging the notion, the Dayton Daily News reports.

Fracking refers to the process used to extract oil and natural gas from the underground shale deposits, which are expected to be an economic boon for Ohio in the next several years. But opponents worry that the drilling process could contaminate drinking water, a claim the EPA now is considering, the newspaper reports.

In Pavillion, Wyo., the fracking was close to water wells, but drilling in most areas goes deeper than the groundwater level, the newspaper reports.

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/morning_call/2011/12/epa-cites-fracking-as-possible.html

Fracking may be culprit for groundwater pollution, EPA says

By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer11:25 PM Thursday, December 8, 2011

An investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has raised alarm among critics of the oil and natural gas exploration boom getting under way in Ohio.

The federal agency said Thursday for the first time that fracking, a technique that can be used to extract deep deposits of oil and gas, may be to blame for groundwater pollution in Wyoming.

Residents in Pavillion, Wyo., initiated the investigation with complaints in 2008 that well water reeked of chemicals. Health officials advised them not to drink the water after the EPA found hydrocarbons in wells.

Natural gas exploration in Ohio is getting off the ground to the excitement of Gov. John Kasich, who said earlier this year he was “simply thrilled” by a report on natural gas explorations.

The Oklahoma City-based company Chesapeake Energy told shareholders it had leased 1.25 million acres to get at the deep Ohio Utica Shale formation.

Chesapeake estimated it could be worth up to $20 billion to the company. Other major companies are also exploring the Utica, believed to underlie the eastern three-quarters of the state.

Andy Ware, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said Ohio officials understand that state officials in Wyoming are disputing the report. “As far as Ohio, we believe we have the best drilling regulations in the country. We are confident we will protect our groundwater here in Ohio,” he said.

But Peggy Koebernick of Yellow Springs, a member of the No Frack group, said the EPA finding could make residents reconsider signing leases for gas exploration. “It could have an impact,” she said. “It could make fracking more controversial, while it’s now touted by the industry as being safe. We need more thorough investigation and a moratorium.”

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/fracking-may-be-culprit-for-groundwater-pollution-epa-says-1296532.html

Is Ohio the Next “Frontier of Fracking?”

December 9, 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Environmental groups say more must be done to ensure that Ohio does not become the next "frontier of fracking." Horizontal hydraulic fracturing, the drilling method commonly known as "fracking," involves injecting millions of gallons of water and chemicals into deep underground wells to break up rock and release natural gas.

While supporters say it provides a substantial source of energy, some of the chemicals are toxic and the process is hazardous to the environment, says Matt Trokan, water conservation coordinator for the Sierra ClubOhio Chapter.

"Fracking is very different than conventional drilling and it threatens our water and our air, particularly the disposal of waste water from the fracking activities."

Currently there are 40 horizontally-fractured wells in Ohio – and 4,000 more expected in the next four years. Natural gas companies are not required to disclose the chemicals used in fracking, and Trokan says the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency cannot properly monitor all the horizontal drilling and wastewater disposal sites. His group and others insist more research is needed, along with better policies and regulations to ensure public and environmental health.

http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/23656-1