The Athens County Commissioners approved a resolution
Tuesday calling on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to tighten
regulations on companies practicing horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the
state.
The resolution came after several weeks of meetings
between the commissioners and local landowners and anti-fracking advocates. The
controversial oil and gas drilling practice has been a major area of public
concern for local residents since last spring.
The resolution also establishes a strategic advisory
committee to study the issue as it pertains to Athens County and eventually make
recommendations.
It states that the board "supports the strong
regulation of hydraulic fracturing at the state and federal levels."
The board also "recognizes our responsibility to
support economic development without degradation of the environmental and
agricultural integrity of the county."
In the resolution, the county commissioners call on
the ODNR to take several steps to address the fracking issue. In Ohio, the ODNR
Department of Mineral Resources Management has been given sole regulatory
authority of oil and gas drilling disposal, though the state EPA regulates how
it affects water resources.
In the resolution, the commissioners called on the
ODNR to increase the number of state inspectors commensurate with the planned
increase in drilling activities. A lack of adequate state regulation has been a
major area of concern for anti-fracking forces.
The commissioners also called on the ODNR to "conduct
geotechnical investigations of soil and rock stability prior to any drilling or
surface impoundments such as dams or holding ponds; require full disclosure of
the chemical constituents used during deep shale drilling and hydraulic
fracturing and the disposal methods for deep shale drilling and hydraulic
fracturing waste; to update regulations on the use of class 2 injection wells
to reflect the increased volume and known content of deep shale drilling and
hydraulic fracturing waste."
Regulating water withdrawal from public waters for
hydraulic fracturing purposes is another area the commissioners called on the
ODNR to be more involved with. They also said they wanted the agency to prevent
installation of wells in source water protection areas.
"Setbacks for wells should be one state standard from
bodies of water, homes, and property lines in rural and urban areas," the
resolution states. It also calls for increasing the bond required to cover for
deep shale drilling and fracking operations and increase the severance tax to
pay for county-level remediation.
"Installation of wells in public source water protection
areas should not occur," it states.
The resolution was signed by all three commissioners,
Larry Payne, Lenny Eliason and Mark Sullivan. They have said they had been
seeking an inclusive resolution that all three could support.
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.
The resolution also calls upon the U.S. Congress to
pass the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, also known
as the FRAC Act. It says that this legislation could "repeal the fracking
exemption to the Safe Drinking Water Act and require disclosure of chemicals
used in fracking."
The strategic advisory committee, as established by
the resolution, will consist of the president of the commissioners, Mark
Sullivan, the Athens County engineer or designee, the Athens County sheriff or
designee, the president of the Township Trustees Association or designee,
Robert Wiley, Al Blazevicious, Pat Smith and Pat Davidson, with Chris Cooper,
Joe Yanity and Sonia Marcus as alternate appointments. This membership
represents both fracking opponents and supporters, as well as landowners who
have signed leases.
Eliason said Wednesday that the resolution
accomplishes the goals the commissioners had been aiming for.
"This resolution calls for our state and federal
legislators to ensure that there are regulations to protect our environment and
to properly staff the agencies that are going to regulate the process," he
said. "It also looks to repeal the exemption from the Clean Water Act for the
oil and gas industry. I think we have a good framework in our resolution that
expresses the concerns of Athens County as a whole."
Payne said that the discussions and presentations by
people with opinions on both sides of the issue were instrumental in passing
the resolution.
"The resolution basically implies if horizontal
fracking does occur in Athens County, we urge the state to have guidelines, in
place, that will ensure it is done in a way that protects the environment," he
said. "Protecting the environment was a common message from both pro fracking
and anti-fracking residents."
