Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” served as the main topic of discussion during the Richland County commissioners’ meeting Tuesday morning with Frack Free Ohio organizer Bill Baker and Sierra Club Ohio Chapter manager Jed Thorp.
Baker stated that his primary request is for the county government to pass a resolution in support of House Bill #148 and Senate Bill #178, both of which would ban toxic hydraulic fracturing flow-back waste from the state of Ohio, ban Class II disposal wells and the release of treated or recycled flow-back waste into water treatment facilities and waterways, and prohibit enhanced recovery operations.
His second request, he added, is that the commissioners enact whatever viable, local legislation that can be put in place to protect the county from industrial waste created by fracking.
In support of Baker’s requests, Thorp, discussed the potential risks posed by fracking.
Thorp explained, to “frack” a single well takes anywhere from two – five million gallons of fresh water, which is used in the drilling process to fracture deep layers of rock, from which gas, or in some cases oil, is eventually extracted.
Once the fracking process is complete, he added, the water contains an unknown mix of chemicals and must be disposed of, and according to Ohio law, liquid fracking waste cannot be sent to a municipal waste water treatment plant because of the volume and toxicity.
He noted also that Ohio currently has over 200 Class II injection wells and that those wells can be placed anywhere. Pennsylvania, he continued, has approximately 6,000 permitted fracking wells, but fewer than a dozen injection wells.
“Why should Ohio, why should Richland County, become the dumping ground for waste from other counties and other states?” Thorp questioned.
He said fracking is similar to nuclear power in that fracking waste is known to be radioactive, so much so to exceed federal drinking water standards.
“Just two years ago, injection wells were confirmed to be the cause of a series of earthquakes, 98 in total, that shook the town of Youngstown,” he said.
In reference to the “grout” well casings buried deep within the ground that are meant to maintain and protect the injection site, commissioner Gary Utt stated, “You can never be sure that [the casings] are going to keep the ground water from being contaminated.”
Thorp summarized, “The Sierra Club believes that fracking is an unnecessarily risky practice that results in inevitable negative impacts on our environment, as well as further increasing our dependence on volatile fossil fuels that are becoming more expensive and more dangerous to extract. While we recognize the prospect of jobs and economic prosperity make it quite tempting to support fracking production wells, we feel that the long-term risks vastly outweigh the potential short-term economic benefits.”
Baker added in, “One of our concerns over road brine, which is claimed to be the only oil field waste from vertical wells, is the lack of consistent testing and oversight of brine. With the increased volume of hydraulic fracturing flow-back waste, which is highly toxic and radioactive, being transported, stored, and disposed of in Ohio, there is no guarantee that what was once considered a safe method of ice control will remain so.”
“We want a sustainable future, not just in basic resources, such as clear air, fresh water and fertile soil, and renewable energy generation, but also in job creation, farming, outdoor recreation, and habitation,” said Baker.
In regard to enacting a local legislature, commissioner Ed Olson commented, “When it comes to an issue like these injection wells, if you attack the authority of the ODNR [Ohio Department of Natural Resources] to regulate, you’re going to lose because unless the legislatures gives us [the commissioners] that authority [to regulate] we can’t do it. But what we can do is research under what conditions we would have the legal authority to do something.”
“We want a sustainable future, not just in basic resources, such as clear air, fresh water and fertile soil, and renewable energy generation, but also in job creation, farming, outdoor recreation, and habitation,” said Bill Baker.
