Shale Boom: Economic impact

"We had our attorneys develop a lease that we felt we could be comfortable with, that would approach and address some of the issues that potentially could be harmful to the environment and that's where we started," Rea said.

That lease has become a national model that presses gas companies to do better than the state of Ohio's regulations.

For example, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources gas companies can drill at least 200 feet away from a residence. Under ALOV's agreement, it's 500 feet.

Rea says, "That simply comes because you do have a number of people who are willing to sign a lease at the same time. Strength in numbers certainly benefits us."

The agreement also holds the company responsible for damages to the water supply.

That it will bear the burden of restoring water quality and quantity to its pre-existing condition. And it will provide potable water during that restoration process.

Click to read more ...

Chesapeake gets OK for 3 new fracking wells in northeast Ohio

Chesapeake gets OK for 3 new fracking wells in northeast Ohio

(NYSE:CHK) has gotten permits for three new wells to explore for natural gas in Ohio’s Utica shale field, the Youngstown Vindicatorreports.

The Oklahoma City-based company’s Chesapeake Exploration LLC affiliate said the Ohio Department of Natural Resources granted the wells in Columbiana County, the paper reported, where it plans to look for resources using fracking.

Columbiana County now has 14 wells approved for fracking, the paper said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/morning_call/2012/02/chesapeake-gets-ok-for-3-new-fracking.html

Will Natural Gas Become the 'Achilles' Heel' of Our Country?

After hearing Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar at the City Club of Cleveland on Feb. 14 speak about President Obama's vision for the new energy frontier, which is largely a full-steam ahead agenda for fossil fuel extraction, and then reading that more than 800,000 people signed a petition to their U.S. Senators to stop the Keystone XL pipeline and nearly2,000 people in Frankfort, Ky., called for an end to mountaintop removal coal mining that same day, it was clear that Obama's energy plan does not align with the sustainable energy future many Americans want.

Salazar said Obama's energy blueprint focuses on tapping into all of the energy resources of the U.S. and that the Department of the Interior will play a key role in mapping out a future that will bring about energy security for America.

He talked about renewable energy and the 41 solar energy manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and how this country is projected to be the number one solar energy market in the world by 2014. He also said that major strides have been made in wind energy, with more than 400 U.S. companies manufacturing components for the wind energy industry and one-third of all new electrical capacity in the U.S. coming from wind farms.

In 2009, there were no solar energy projects permitted on public lands. Today there are 29 commercial-scale solar projects and more than 5,600 megawatts of permitted renewable energy projects on public lands. Salazar said these projects are creating thousands of jobs and even making skeptics believe that we can actually capture the power of the sun to power our cities.

Click to read more ...

Commissioners call for tighter state regulations on fracking

The Athens News

With regard to baseline water testing, the resolution identifies a need for this in county water supplies prior to the initiation of fracking operations. The resolution calls for testing for organic and inorganic chemicals involved in the fracking process.

http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-36114-commissioners-call-for-tighter-state-regulations-on-fracking.html