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Worried Ohioans learning from Pennsylvania about fracking aid
 


SENECAVILLE, Ohio — As fracking operations have made their way westward into Ohio from Pennsylvania, Ohioans are looking at their neighbors to the east for any kind of advice on dealing with the aftermath and intrusion of hydraulic fracturing.

The horror stories associated with fracking in Pennsylvania are being repeated in the Buckeye State. Kerri and Jeff Bond of Seneca Lake in eastern Ohio are moving from their small farm after 40 years of residence. According to Jeff, the rural hillsides have changed in recent years.

The trees in their yard started to lose foliage and die last year. Their sheep, chickens and cats died, and their dogs developed tumors. The Bond family has developed ongoing rashes.

“We’ve never had any of this before, ever,” Kerri said. “And we’ve lived in this area our entire lives. We wanted to retire here. We can’t. We’ve got to move.”

Fracking involves pumping a mixture of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to fracture rock formations and release trapped oil and gas. The wastewater that comes up with the petroleum can be reused, but disposal eventually is necessary. Frequently, that wastewater is injected deep underground.

The Bonds blame the gas development that’s been building up all around them. Numerous well pads, and the Crum Compressor Station, sits roughly a quarter-mile over a ridge from their farm. The nighttime sky lights up orange as the compressor station is vented.

Then there’s all the diesel trucks creating traffic problems and emitting pollution. “My community has been inundated with drilling and fracking, and waste,” Kerri said.

As the shale gas industry moved west into Ohio, people there are concerned about the impact that new well pads, pipelines, compressor stations and traffic are having on the environment and the quality of life in their rural communities.

“Many of us in this part of Ohio support the fracking industry because of the jobs and money it’s brought,” said David Bromwell, a Gibson, Ohio, resident who says he is feeling the impact from fracking.

“I live just a few miles from fracking operations near me, and we never know what’s going on out there. It’s constant. My house shakes. It’s like trying to relax next to jet engine. Right now we’re hoping to learn some lessons from what has transpired in southwestern Pennsylvania.”

Less than a year ago, seismologists were brought into eastern Ohio as there were reports of earthquakes attributed to fracking activity. But that didn’t stop many Ohioans, as federal officials auctioned the oil and gas leasing rights for more than 1,800 acres of the Wayne National Forest’s Marietta Unit for eventual fracking.

Despite the threat of earthquakes possibly related to fracking, wells have sprouted in various counties. The most drilling permits have occurred in Carroll County, with 434 producing wells. Belmont County is next with 260 producing horizontal wells, and there are 150 wells in Monroe County. In Noble County there are 129 wells, with another 31 being drilled.

The Bonds, Bromwell and others were among 40 people who gathered recently at Salt Fork State Park in eastern Ohio for a meeting organized and funded by the Freshwater Accountability Project. It was an opportunity for residents to voice their concerns and to hear from experts about the environmental, legal and health issues of fracking.

“The industry has everything locked down and people feel helpless,” said environmental activist Teresa Mills, organizer of this community meeting. “What we’re hoping to do is get everyone together and show that together, we can stand strong and move forward. We need to learn from what Pennsylvanians have had to put up with.”

And Pennsylvanians have certainly had to deal with similar issues, said John Stolz, an environmental microbiologist at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He has researched the environmental impacts of fracking for many years.

“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection received 9,000 calls from people complaining about fracking issues,” Stolz said. “The industry and fracking has worsened preexisting water problems here.

“I use the analogy, you’ve always had back problems and then somebody rear-ends you, and really knocks your back out of whack. But that was a preexisting condition; who’s going to pay for it? These are the kinds of things that are happening. But regulators are hesitant to pin this water pollution on the gas industry. They want to see a smoking gun.”

Stolz wants to start research on how fracking is impacting the water quality in eastern Ohio. He said drilling companies are digging in with opposition.

“The association that represents drillers maintains that oil and gas production is safe and provides financial benefits to the state,” he said. “It points to a 2018 University of Cincinnati study that found no groundwater contamination from fracking.”

Environmental attorney Megan Hunter hears from people in eastern Ohio all the time, worried about the gas industry.

“People are especially concerned about compressor stations, which keep the gas moving through the pipelines,” she said. “Hands down, that’s the No. 1 call that I receive here in Ohio. People complain of health impacts and claim their farm animals are dying and the wildlife is gone.

“But I tell them, Ohio doesn’t have many legal avenues to protect people who feel they’ve been harmed by the gas industry. There’s just a host of things that are lacking here in Ohio. Pennsylvania has some additional laws that help.”

For example, unlike Ohio, that state’s constitution includes an amendment that guarantees clean air and water as a basic right. Local governments in Pennsylvania can use zoning to restrict where well pads are located. In Ohio, Hunter explained, local zoning authority is still in question.

Those in the western portion of Ohio should realize fracking is slowly creeping their way. In Greene County, just 15 miles east of Dayton, there are 45 oil and gas permits which have been issued in Xenia.

The Ohio EPA recommends people visit its website or call the following numbers with any concerns:

•The EPA’s website has a “Citizen Concerns” section where public meetings and notices are listed. Call the office at 614-644-2160 for more information.

•To report a spill, release or environmental crime, call the Ohio EPA 24/7 at its hotline, 800-282-9378.

•The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has an incident reporting hotline at 844-OHCALL1 (642-2551). Routine complaints can be directed to the central office at 614-265-6922 or by email to oilandgas@dnr.state.oh.us

7/18/2018