All parties must use caution as watchword for drilling

A series of minor earthquakes that rocked the Greater Youngstown area last year has not shaken the faith of drilling and energy businesses. They’re planning wells for the disposal of wastes from oil and gas drilling in our region and our state at a brisk clip.

The proof is in the numbers. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reported last week it has 19 new applications to drill new disposal wells. That’s on top of 23 wells already approved but not yet operating, and 171 wells already operating statewide. Those numbers include five planned or proposed disposal-well sites in Mahoning County.

We welcome the continued growth in drilling — both in wells for the extraction of natural gas and oil deep within the Marcellus and Utica shales and in wells for the safe disposal of their wastes — as a sign of the economic boom of the industry and of the broader economic stimulus they produce for the Mahoning Valley.

The legacy of those Youngstown quakes that caused no injuries or major damage has been the implementation of stricter regulations that better protect Ohioans from potential safety and environmental dangers from injection waste-disposal wells.

Since the quakes, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has been reviewing disposal-well applications under a new set of safety standards, which include a ban on drilling injection wells into a deep, pre-Cambrian rock formation that geologists consider the source of most Ohio quakes.

What’s more, the state’s regulations go far beyond the minimum standards required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, further easing any lingering fears. For example, Ohio requires unannounced inspections of disposal-well sites once every 12 weeks instead of the U.S. EPA mandate of once every year. Ohio requires monthly mini-tests to ensure continuous mechanical integrity of wells once every month; the feds require demonstration of mechanical integrity only once every five years.

Added layers of protection are contained in legislation recently introduced in the Ohio General Assembly. Senate Bill 315 would strengthen even more safety and public-reporting regulations for drillers and would tighten rules for road-safety maintenance agreements between drillers and local governments. The Legislature should adopt these measures swiftly before its summer recess.

Caution

In the midst of so many safeguards, however, caution must remain a watchword throughout the drilling process. Regulators must review applications for wells scrupulously, inspectors must live up to the rigorous demands of the state’s new laws, drillers must responsibly work to minimize damage and then repair any deterioration to roads and properties. Public officials at all levels must also keep an open ear to any and all complaints and concerns of property owners on which drilling takes place and respond to them promptly, thoroughly and responsibly.

If all of these protections are followed meticulously, Ohio can reign as a national leader in oil and natural-gas production for years to come while injecting a healthy and long-lasting dose of economic vitality on our state and our Valley.