Fracking Fish Fry raises concerns about natural gas drilling in Ohio
by Joe Narkin

(Plain Press, July 2010) Shrimp BP, Salmon Valdez, and Walleye Frackassee were on the menu at the First Annual Fracking Fish Fry. But, for some reason, these toxic seafood specialties were not in popular demand among the 40 citizens who gathered at Edgewater State Park on June 12, 2010 to protest the plans, practices, and legal prerogatives of the natural gas drilling industry in Ohio.

The gas drilling industry views the Marcellus Shale Formation as a super giant gas field. The shale formation covers significant portions of the states of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. Northeast Ohio and part of Lake Erie lie within the Marcellus Shale Formation.

“If the drillers get their way, there will be natural gas wells at Edgewater Park and Euclid Beach,” said Bob Greenbaum of the Sierra Club.

During 2009, a state senate proposal was allowed to die in the face of opposition. The proposal would have permitted natural gas drilling in state parks in Ohio, but environmentalists fear that discussions will be resurrected following the 2010 election and that drilling will be permitted.

Under current law, Ohio allows gas drilling in residential areas. Citizens and municipalities have little recourse to prevent such gas drilling.

“There are 275,000 oil and gas wells in Ohio that cover an area approximately the same size as the current BP spill in the Gulf and these wells may be leaking,” said Kari Matsko of the Northeast Ohio Gas Accountability Project. Furthermore, according to Matsko, only 2 permits have been denied in 20 years and, in 2008, 1,400 drilling permits were approved in Ohio.

“There have been over 1,000 reports of water contamination in the past twenty years and there are only 12 inspectors to monitor these gas wells in Ohio,” said Matsko.

In 2007, Matsko experienced severe illness that puzzled doctors for several months before her health problems were attributed to exposure to hydrogen sulfide from a nearby natural gas well. “Ohio has the highest percentage in the nation of this fatal gas in our geology,” said Matsko. “People are waking up sickened in their own home,” she said.

The method of extracting gas from shale is commonly known as fracking (high pressure hydraulic fracturing). During the fracking process-- drilling sand, water, and a slurry of toxic fluids are injected under high pressure into the well bore in order to fracture the shale and free the gas. A gallon of fracking fluid waste is created for every gallon of gas produced by a well, according to Greenbaum.
The drilling industry claims that the fracking fluid used in the drilling process is injected below the water table and, therefore, does not present a hazard. Environmentalists claim, however, that the fracking fluid, which contains toxic compounds that are volatile in air and soluble in water, produces an unacceptable environmental and health safety risk.

“When a person in authority tells you not to worry, it is time to worry,” said Randy Cunningham of Cleveland Climate Watch, adding that, despite the dangers, the gas produced by these wells is usually “greeted as manna from heaven by businessmen, politicians, and an economically desperate population.”

“Sand, water, and some pretty nasty chemicals” are injected into gas wells and, in the process, “aquifers are destroyed and wells are polluted,” said Cunningham. “What is happening in the Gulf is happening in Northeast Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York,” he said.

The disposal of spent fracking fluid also creates significant environmental risks. During the drilling process at the well site, these fluids can be stored in open-air pits. Long-term disposal often takes place through deep injection wells, where fracking fluids may be combined with toxins from other industries. This creates an unacceptable risk to fresh water aquifers, said Greenbaum.

And fracking fluids are not always disposed of legally, according to Matsko. In Highland Heights, for example, fracking fluid was dumped in the storm water sewer, she said.

Additionally, environmentalists are concerned that a recent series of low-intensity earthquakes in the gulf region of Texas, normally a stable seismological area, may be related to the fracking process. If this proves true, it would create concern for the region in Lake County surrounding the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, according to Greenbaum. The Lake County area naturally experiences dozens of low-level earthquakes of 2.0 to 3.5 in magnitude per decade. In 1986, the area experienced a 5.0 magnitude earthquake that was felt throughout Northeastern Ohio.

Like the U.S. Minerals and Management Service (MMS), which is under criticism for an overly cozy relationship with the drilling industry that may have contributed to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is responsible for both the drilling permit process and the regulation of wells. “This makes regulatory bodies the business partners of the drillers,” said Cunningham.

Historically, Ohio law has been liberal in regulating gas drilling and continues to be so. While industry standards should require a minimum of 400 feet between a well and a residence, an Ohio law dating back to the early 20th century requires only a 100 foot protective explosion zone, according to Matsko. Columbia Gas has voluntarily adopted a 300-foot explosion zone, she said.

In 2004, Ohio passed a law that effectively eliminates the ability of local officials to refuse to allow or restrict gas well drilling within their municipalities. There are currently no Ohio laws outlawing gas wells under the waters of Lake Erie.

“It is time to bring an end to the era of dirty energy; it is time to end this suicide pact where we are co-conspirators in our own destruction,” said Cunningham.

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