Futures and Commodity Market News

Sun Nov 22, 2009

Breaking financial news 24/7 courtesy of TradingCharts.com Inc. / TFC Commodity Charts

Nov 08, 2009 (The Akron Beacon Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Look no farther than Stow or Munroe Falls for evidence that Ohio's industry-friendly law on oil and gas wells went too far when it stopped local officials from exerting controls over drilling. Residents and officeholders in those suburbs are fighting against proposed wells by appearing before the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (which gained sole regulatory authority under the 2004 law) and in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

As detailed recently by staff writer Jim Carney, it's an uphill battle, despite legitimate concerns. Stow and Stow residents are worried about the impact of drilling in a residential neighborhood. In Munroe Falls, Mayor Frank Larson points to a possible well within 300 feet of the Cuyahoga River, the drinking water source for his and other communities.

The conflicts expose, once again, the balance that must be sought when new wells, with a very marginal impact on overall supply and prices, are drilled in suburban and urban areas.

Two bills in the state Senate seek to remedy the situation. By far the better one in terms of restoring balance was introduced by Tim Grendell, a Geauga County Republican. Among other things, his bill would end mandatory pooling, the practice of forcing property owners into a group to form an area large enough for drilling. The bill would increase setback requirements from 100 feet to at least 1,000 feet and re-establish local zoning control.

The bill offered by Tom Niehaus, a New Richmond Republican, would do little to halt current practices. Fees, insurance and oversight requirements would increase. Drillers would be limited to apply for five mandatory poolings a year, although the limit could be exceeded if the chief of the department's Division of Mineral Resources Managements approves. Local governments, and residents affected by mandatory pooling, would still lack clout over oil and gas issues.

One of Grendell's arguments is that mandatory pooling involves a taking of property without a jury deciding just compensation. That should not obscure the larger, and more important issue, the right of communities to regulate a sometimes dangerous industrial process that has the potential to cause lasting environmental damage.

To see more of the Akron Beacon Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.ohio.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Copyright (C) 2009, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Please read the End User Agreement.
By accessing this page, you agree to the terms and conditions of the End User Agreement.

News provided by COMTEX