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Natural-gas-drilling contracts discussed in Columbiana Co.
By D.A. WILKINSON
LISBON
Citizens who met at the Columbiana County Career and Technical Center on Monday night were asked by officials if they had been asked by oil and gas companies to enter into a contract.
The majority of the approximately 250 people in the room raised their hands.
The meeting was the brainchild of state Rep. Linda Bolon of Columbiana, D-1st, along with state Sen. Jason Wilson of Columbiana, D-30th.
Bolon said she had heard talk about a surge in attempts from energy companies to get leases.
Mike McCormac, an oil and gas permitting manager for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said, “I’ve never seen this sort of frenzy in my 30 years.”
Some 67 permits have been issued for wells, and some 40 wells have been drilled in eastern Ohio recently, he said.
The ODNR oversees the drilling and can take various enforcement steps up through criminal charges if the mining laws are violated.
The Marcellus Shale region on the eastern edge of Ohio may be a promising natural-gas field along with the Utica Shale region that extends from New York state to Pennsylvania. The Marcellus Shale area is about 4,000 feet below the surface, and the Utica Shale is about 7,000 feet below the surface.
The legislators said questions have come up in recent weeks on whether drilling would affect a person’s farm or whether a person needs to get an attorney before entering into an agreement with an energy company.
Officials noted that property owners who signed away the mineral rights to their property for small payments have no recourse because that agreement is a civil agreement between the property owner and the company.
People attending were asked to provide their names, addresses or e-mail addresses to receive updates on the situation from Bolon and Wilson.