MVSD should hold hearings before drilling deal is signed

Gambling the crown jewels on the chance to win a few dollars is not a prudent bet, even if there is little chance of losing.
The Mahoning Valley's crown jewel is the Meander Reservoir and the high-quality, low cost water that it provides for more than 300,000 people and companies.
But the board of the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District is seriously discussing a plan to gamble the future of the reservoir in exchange for a relatively small return.
The board has before it a proposal to allow the drilling of 15 gas wells beneath the reservoir. In exchange, the MVSD would receive an estimated 250,000 in natural gas and oil royalties the first year. That's less than a dollar a person.
Everyone from a spokesman for the company that wants to do the drilling, NCL Natural Resources of Houston, Texas, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources acknowledge that there could be environmental damage, but the possibility is low.
Rick Simmers, acting assistant chief of ODNR's Division of Mineral Resources Management, said contamination can occur, but only on "rare occasions & quot; and the risk of contamination is "pretty darn low. & quot;
And Michael Nicol, managing member of NCL, notes that his company has 50 million worth of insurance.
We're not impressed.
Long-term investment
The Meander Reservoir was built 75 years ago to provide a reliable source of water to the area. Its charter partners were Niles and Youngstown, who paid for the construction and have had access to the water for their own residents and for sale to others ever since.
As an asset, the reservoir is priceless. A 50 million insurance policy would cover the potential losses of most property owners who allow drilling rigs on their property. The MVSD isn't one of them.
More important, however, is the timeline. No private company and no insurance policy can provide the MVSD the protection it needs over the next 75 years or the next 150 years.
Protecting the primary water supply of the Mahoning Valley is a long-range responsibility.
The people who built the Meander Reservoir -- against considerable opposition back then, it should be noted -- were visionaries. They looked far into the future. No less should be expected of the stewards of this asset today.
Before the board decides to gamble with the future of the reservoir, even if the chance of losing is very small or very rare, public hearings should be held. Let the public hear about the risks, about the benefits and about who the local investors in this enterprise with a Houston company are.
The future of a public asset shouldn't be decided by the board until everyone who has a stake in this deal is given more information than has been parceled out so far.