Fracking Boom or Bust? Oil Drilling in Rural Ohio

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1 \ NEWS OPINION EDUCATION STUDENT LIFE Fracking Boom or Bust? Oil Drilling in Rural Ohio Article written by: Krysta Ryan Date: February, 20th, 2017 Image by Daniel Beach: Picture of a Fracking Operation in Carrol County Carroll County in Ohio has been coined Ohio s Fracking Epicenter says David Beach a Harvard graduate and advocate for sustainability in Northeast Ohio. His report How the Fracking Boom Impacts Rural Ohio shows aerial views of the new drilling sites and the massive industrialization of the countryside. The Hydraulic Fracking for oil along the Utica/Point Pleasant shale formation, has given the resident farmers of Carroll County Ohio a new type of commodity to harvest, shale oil. Drilling operations like the picture taken by Daniel Beach are quickly changing the way of life in the small town. With more than 300 wells permitted in the area for horizontal hydraulic fracturing of the Utica/Point Pleasant shale formation, Carroll County remains Ohio s number one producer of shale oil explains Beach. American oil companies have found new and innovative techniques to extract shale oil on land. But many question at what cost?

2 The United States Energy Information Administration reported in 2017 that the production of crude oil and land leasing for fracking in the year of 2015, which for the seventh consecutive year has increased 7% in one year. Unconventional gas production via hydraulic fracturing; or for short "fracking" has increased the supply of crude oil over the short term, production is expensive and poses serious environmental risks. These oil rigs are popping up across the rural landscape and changing the way of life for many residents. Many environmental questions and concerns surrounding the controversial practices of oil companies have been at the forefront in Carroll County. As a universal goal, the United States has strived for energy independence by investing in alternative forms of energy such as shale oil. Daniel McGlynn, a California based freelance journalist who writes for the New York Times with a specialty in science and the environment wrote in 2011 extensively about the fracturing scene in Ohio. To understand the changing rural landscape, McGlynn wrote, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a technique of extracting shale oil from rock deposits underground, also flushes massive amounts of chemicals, sand and materials with water at an extremely high pressure, causing shale formations to break.

3 Shale when cracked releases oil deposits which are then captured and then extracted. This process is being used throughout the country and more frequently on land creating new environmental risks, specifically to the underground freshwater sources. As with many of Earth's natural wonders humans have been finding ways to extract resources for hundreds of years. With the depletion of the world s oil supply, new and innovative fuel options have allowed for the development of other oil rich resources to be explored. Landowners are leasing sub-surface areas of their properties to oil companies for upwards $5,800 dollars per acre a month plus royalties of the oil mined on the property. 95 percent of Carroll County residents draw from well water, not city water, Interview with the President Paul Feezel of Carroll Concerned Citizens (2013) Enticing to farmers in the area, oil companies seem to promise Ohioan s wealth from underground shale deposits. Carrol County residents have seen an economic boom across the retail and housing markets, but there is still a considerable amount of concern says Paul Feezel, President of the organization called Carroll Concerned Citizens. There is a considerable amount of backlash towards the oil companies, who failed to relay to land owners the serious environmental risks, specifically related to groundwater contamination.

4 Hydraulic fracturing requires thousands to millions of gallons of water to crack rock holding shale oil and the process causes dangerous pollutants to seep into the ground causing contamination of freshwater underground. Terrence Bensel and Jon Turk, authors of Contemporary Environmental Issues (2nd ed.) explains in 2014 that over the life span of a single fracking well, 1 million gallons of toxic, briny wastewater is produced. Contaminated groundwater is the biggest environmental threat that could cause a serious amount of damage to the public. There is a controversial debate over the long term effects of the land after the fracking operation has depleted the well continues. Research is ongoing as many environmental activists and state regulators demand stricter regulations on the oil companies preying on small rural farm towns. Moreover, reports from residents near fracking operations have shown drinking water to be contaminated with hydraulic chemicals. Even though The Environmental Protection Agency or (EPA) released a report on June 5 th 2015 stating that contaminated drinking water from fracking chemicals is not widespread. Regardless the EPA s report, acknowledges contamination of groundwater is happening and the EPA suggests it is the state s duty to provide the necessary environmental services to control contamination. This is a big task for most states who lack the financial support to carry out large, in-depth studies. Carroll County with a population of roughly 28, 836.

5 51 % of Carroll County residents view gas drilling boom negatively. The Ohio Organizing Collaborative Listening Project interviewed residents who lived in Carroll County at the time drilling was introduced to their town. Surprisingly 51 percent of respondents view the oil and gas drilling boom negatively and 64 percent are very concerned about the damage to farmland and/or natural ecosystems reported Ted Auch in 2016 Ohio Shale Country Listening Project. There is a continued amount of activity in the area as drilling wells continue to produce oil. While the nation preaches for total energy independence, it is debatable whether shale oil harvested from fracking will be deemed the next wonder fuel. As previously stated, the long term effects on the land after fracking in Carroll County will be an ongoing study. Only time will tell whether or not our earth s underground resources will truly provide energy independence on foreign sources of fuel. Some activist suggest until further research is conducted and data is analyzed will the true environmental risks manifest.

6 References Auch, P. T. (2016, January 08). Ohio Shale Country Listening Project Part 1 Beach, D. (2013, August 23). Ohio fracking photo tour GreenCityBlueLake: Feezel, P., (2013). Interview with the President of Carroll Concerned Citizens McGlynn, D. (2011, December 16). Fracking controversy. CQ Researcher, 21, Turk, J., & Bensel, T. (2014). Contemporary environmental issues (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis. (2017).