Leases are already being finalized!
WJU to Host Forum On Fracking Under Ohio River in WV
From an Article by Casey Junkins, Wheeling Intelligencer, January 31, 2015
Wheeling, WV — Wheeling Jesuit University biology professor Ben Stout is eager to hear Gastar Exploration Senior Vice President Mike McCown explain how the driller can safely frack beneath the Ohio River to retrieve Marcellus and Utica shale natural gas.
Stout and McCown are slated to speak on the matter during a public forum at 1 p.m. February 7th inside the Recital Hall at the Center for Educational Technologies building.
Gastar is one of several companies making deals with the West Virginia Department of Commerce to extract oil and natural gas from state-owned minerals lying thousands of feet below the riverbed. Noble Energy recently bid to drill on 1,400 acres beneath the river, while Statoil is also making plans to bore under the river.
Combining the lease payments with the 20 percent worth of production royalties each company will render once gas starts flowing would give the state a steady stream of millions of dollars over several years.
“This is a great opportunity for us and for the state,” McCown said. “We are confident, with our track record for working in Marshall County, that we can do this. We have fracked close to 70 wells with no incidents.”
However, Stout said there is too much unknown about fracking to proceed with the plans. “I am not a big fan of fracking,” Stout said. “Bu air pollution and water disposal – those are the things that concern me more so than the river. To me, frack water being stored in old tanks along the river is more of a concern than putting a pipeline under the river.”
According to West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection records, Gastar had one violation for “pollution of waters of the state” on March 1, 2012, though it does not list additional details. The company resolved the situation by April 30, 2012, the DEP shows.
“I am willing to take Mike on his word about that,” Stout said. “The biggest thing we need is more dialogue between the industry and the community.” By comparison, DEP data show several other drillers with significantly more violations.
Beth Collins, director for the Appalachian Institute at WJU, said the forum will be a chance for the community to express concerns regarding fracking beneath the river, but also in general. “There are a lot of concerns about hydraulic fracking around the state of West Virginia. Our drinking water comes from that body of water, and I’m glad that Mike and Dr. Stout will be on hand to give clarity to these major concerns,” she said.
State legislators invited to attend include Sens. Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio, and Jack Yost D-Brooke, as well as Delegates Ryan Weld, R-Brooke; Erikka Storch, R-Ohio; Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio; Dave Evans, R-Marshall; and Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock.
McCown believes because the Marcellus Shale is more than one mile deep in Marshall County, the horizontal drilling bores will be so far beneath the surface that nothing Gastar is doing would impact the river. “What is on the surface has no bearing on the success of our operations,” he said. “You can drill under the city of Wheeling, for that matter, and not have any issues at all.”
>>>>> Ohio River in Wetzel County, WV <<<<<
Hannibal Locks & New Martinsville Bridge
See the initial “prospectus” for bidding on leases for drilling and fracking under the Ohio River. What about the possible earthquake damages to the locks & dams, to the bridge abutments, to the hydropower facilities, to the water quantity and quality? Plenty of questions but no definitive answers.
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