Drilling permit request is pulled

The company plans to seek a permit at a later date.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- A local drilling company has withdrawn its request for a state permit to drill a controversial gas well here -- for now.
Ohio Valley Energy Systems Corp. of Austintown requested a permit to drill two separate wells at 809 and 813 Golfview Avenue. Most procedures had been followed and a hearing was scheduled for later this month for company representatives and residents not in agreement with the drilling. Now, the request has been placed on hold.
Dave Matak, president of Ohio Valley Energy Systems, said the company will reapply for the permit after a state committee is formed to create additional rules and precautions about the drilling process under a new state law.
Recently changed
Laws governing the drilling of gas wells in Ohio have recently changed, removing any local control over how and where the wells are drilled. Before the change in state law, Boardman Township did not permit drilling near residential housing. The new law allows drilling up to 100 feet of a home.
Ohio Valley Energy has drilled one well under the new state guidelines, which was much closer to homes than former regulations would have permitted. Residents living in the Sharon Drive neighborhood where that well was drilled were unhappy.
On Sept. 23, trucks began clearing a spot of land just to the rear of the property line of Gary and Judy Olin's home on Sharon Drive. Soon after, drilling equipment was brought to the spot.
Two days after the clearing began, the Olins, their neighbors Lisa and Brian Hughes, and most other residents nearby received a letter telling them a gas well would be drilled a short distance from the Olins' rear bedroom window. Then, the drilling began.
Complaints
Residents say the drilling had been nonstop with noise continuing through the night. They complained of gas smells, their homes shaking from the drilling process and dirt buildup on their homes from dust in the air.
Golfview residents found out what was happening on Sharon Drive and learned of the permit request for potential wells on their street. They began a campaign against the wells. Carolyn Nordgren and several other residents have gone door to door, made countless phone calls and contacted state and local officials seeking help in stopping the drilling.
According to Steve Opritza, a geologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the company had obtained lease agreements with 96 of the 112 landowners in the 40 acres near the wells' gas source, as required by state law, before pulling the request. A hearing in Columbus was scheduled for state officials to rule on the company's request to force the 16 property owners who had refused to sign lease agreements to go along with the plan.
Why it's waiting
Matak said the company decided it would be better to wait until the oversight committee puts additional regulations and safety precautions in place. He said those precautions should ease the minds of some residents opposing the wells.
"We want to be good business partners with the community," he said. "To ease everyone's minds, the best thing we could do is wait on the rules and regulations committee, and when they set up their regulations we will attach them to our permit and follow them."
Matak said he realizes it would be impossible to please all the residents. The company, he said, is making an attempt to address the needs of as many homeowners as possible.
Another concern for Golfview residents is that they live closest to where the drilling will take place, but have little say-so in the actual process. Because the Golfview residents are not part of the mandatory 40 acres needed to meet state regulations, no lease from them is needed to drill. They received only a letter telling them the drilling will be done.
Nordgren said that leaves Golfview residents to worry about noise, dust and pollutants in the air, and safety issues involved with natural gas being collected close to their homes. The residents are also concerned about a proposed gravel road that will be installed for access to the drill site.
State Rep. Kenneth A. Carano of Austintown, D-59th, said he understands the feelings of those living on Golfview and is working on an amendment to the law that might stop such drilling. Carano said his amendment would make drillers obtain permission from anyone living within a 1/4 mile circumference around a drilling site.
His view
"I'm not against drilling, but when you are drilling 100 feet from a house and the people aren't even asked to sign on, that is ridiculous," he said.
Carano said he voted against the change in state law that eliminated local control over drilling.
Matak said the company plans to include those living near the drill site in the process when reapplying for the permit. He said those living nearest to the drilling site on Golfview will be given the opportunity to sign lease agreements with the company. It is not mandatory, however, that the company obtain lease agreements from those homeowners.
Matak said the company, if a majority of residents sign lease agreements, still intends to ask the state to mandatory pool anyone still refusing to sign lease agreements when the new application request is made.
Nordgren said she is willing to wait and see what regulations the committee puts in place. She is happy the company is taking the feelings of those in the community into consideration.
"It's a step in the right direction," she said. "I am glad to see they are at least reconsidering everything."
jgoodwin@vindy.com