Toledo Blade...
Regulate fracking
8/25/11 

There’s a land rush under way in Ohio, as drilling companies buy up leases on thousands of acres of land that sit on potential natural gas riches. A new federal report offers a clue about how to prevent the rush from turning into an environmental catastrophe. 

The jury still is out on whether hydraulic fracturing is a safe way to extract natural gas from rock formations often more than a mile below the surface of the Earth. The method involves pumping huge amounts of water laced with sand and sometimes toxic -- even carcinogenic -- chemicals under high pressure deep underground to free natural gas from the layers of shale in which it is trapped. 

Proponents argue that America needs clean-burning natural gas in its quest to break its dependence on foreign oil. They point out that with more than 1 million wells fractured, contamination of drinking water has been rare and not directly caused by fracking. 

Critics counter that pollution of air and drinking water has occurred in a number of states, including Pennsylvania, which now ships millions of gallons of highly contaminated leftover brine to Ohio for storage in injection wells. They fear an environmental disaster that could harm the region’s greatest resource, Lake Erie. 

Gov. John Kasich appears unlikely to stand in the way of companies that offer landowners in eastern Ohio thousands of dollars an acre to lease their land for drilling, plus royalties on any oil or gas the wells produce. The Akron Beacon Journal reported that one company, Chesapeake Energy, has leased more than 1.2 million acres and hopes to secure 300,000 more. 

But the business-friendly administration should pay attention to a U.S. Department of Energy Department report that said drilling companies must be required to adhere to “best practices” to minimize the potential of environmental damage. 

The panel of experts put together by the Energy Department recommended that drillers monitor water quality in areas where fracking occurs. It also called for rigorous emission standards for air pollutants, disclosure of chemicals used in fracking, and the sharing of more details with the public. 

The report was vague about who should take charge of regulating the fast-growing industry. But Ohio should be proactive in establishing rules and standards, rather than wait until disaster strikes. 

Some landowners have taken matters into their own hands. The Beacon Journal story said one group of owners who pooled their land and leased 100,000 acres to Chesapeake Energy was able to write many extra environmental protections into the lease. 

The best course would be to slow the mad rush to pump millions of gallons of toxic fluid into Ohio wells. Unfortunately, the clamor for jobs has drowned out calls for a moratorium on fracking until the dangers can be more accurately determined. 

In the absence of firm knowledge, the Kasich administration can -- and should -- act to safeguard Ohio residents, the state’s natural resources, and the environment. 

Toledo Blade