Activists Get Support From Several Ohio Communities in Home Rule Appeal

By -
From the Natural Resources Defense Council (an anti-drilling, anti-fossil fuel activist organization):
COLUMBUS, OH (September 6, 2013) – A group of Ohio municipalities have weighed in on behalf of home rule protections against fracking operations in a controversial Ohio Supreme Court Case pitting communities against unfettered oil and gas development. The cities of Broadview Heights, Euclid, Mansfield, and North Royalton, and the Village of Amesville, today submitted a “friends of the court” brief in a case regarding fracking permits awarded to Beck Energy in the town of Munroe Falls.
At issue in this case is the ability of localities to protect their community character by exercising their traditional land use powers over oil and gas development. The municipalities' brief explains the importance of community character to quality of life and economic well-being, and asks the court to consider the grave threats to communities across the state if the state's oil and gas law, which itself contains little to no consideration of community character impacts, is allowed to pre-empt local control.
Representing the municipalities are attorneys with the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Community Fracking Defense Project and a local Columbus attorney. The People's Oil & Gas Collaborative of Ohio, a grassroots organization involving people directly impacted by oil and gas development, played a key role in organizing the municipalities who joined the brief.
Following are comments from groups involved with the brief:
“Historically communities have some say over what happens within their towns,” said Kari Matsko of the People's Oil & Gas Collaborative-Ohio. “The unfettered access given to oil and gas companies after 2004 in Ohio are coming at a very real cost: not just the environmental concerns, but presumptions that they need not abide by zoning as do all other businesses in the state presents many risks. Now that people are coming to see the inequality in the state’s oil & gas rules and the industry's development under them, you are going to see a lot more Munroe Falls cases popping up.”
“When frackers are given license to buck local laws that are in place to protect residents and the state backs them, we have a real problem," said NRDC attorney Meleah Geertsma. "Communities have to retain the tools to ensure they are not the next victim of fracking impacts to hit Ohio’s newspapers.”
The Amicus brief was filed with the Ohio Supreme Court case number 2013-0465 this afternoon. 

Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Popular posts from this blog

Fracktivist in Dimock Releases Carefully Edited Video, Refuses to Release the Rest

By -
Image
From Energy in Depth: There is something very strange going on along Carter Road, in Dimock, Pennsylvania, and I’m not speaking of natural gas, methane migration, contamination, litigation or even the extensive water testing there by the EPA and others.  No, I’m talking about a new “Watergate” conspiracy, complete with 18 minutes of missing tape (well, video, actually). It seems the ever-present Green Party member and  naturist   Vera Scroggins  (a/k/a  Vera Duerga ) has posted a video of Craig Sautner meeting with the EPA.  Mysteriously, the video is but 14 seconds in length, cutting off conversation in what is obviously mid-stream.  It raises a question Craig Sautner, like  Ronald Reagan in Kings Row , might have asked, “Where’s the rest of me?’  Carter Road, isn’t Kings Row, of course, (at least not until you arrive at  the mansion Scott Ely, one of the Dimock litigants, is building with his royalty money ), but there appears to be...
Read more

The Second Largest Oil and Gas Merger - Cabot and Cimarex

By -
Image
       Due to investor pressure, the U.S shale drillers are being pushed to improve financial and operational performance after a few years of poor returns. Even though the industry has improved its numbers, when compared to last year, investors still want more to be done for them to earn more money.      That's why two mid-tier shale drillers, Cabot and Climarex, have decided to merge in order to eliminate $100 million in annual costs, which means more money for the investors. This all-stock transaction is valued at about $7.4 billion, which is relatively high for the oil and gas sector.      The new entity will be renamed and the headquarters located in Houston, Texas. Cabot shareholders will own 49.5 percent of the new entity, and Climarex the rest.       The Cimarex-Cabot merger will address the investor's demand for a higher amount of returning cash. The initial plan is to pay a 50-cent-per-share special dividen...
Read more

Do You Know The History of Fracking?

By -
Image
  In 2018, 59% of total oil production in the U.S came from hydraulic fracking, which means it accounted for more than two-thirds of domestically manufactured gas. By 2024, fracking will reach an astounding $68 billion market value! Of course, fracking is not a new drilling method as you can trace it back hundreds of years. That's why we want to consider the history of hydraulic fracturing (fracking). We will be stating historical facts about it and focusing on the major historical occurrences that have influenced modern-day fracking. Pre-Fracking Days The idea of fracking started back in 1862 when Edward A.L. Roberts (Civil War veteran) witnessed Confederate soldiers exploding artillery rounds into a canal that obstructed a battlefield. At the time, Edward A.L. Roberts called it superincumbent fluid tamping. On April 26th, 1865, Edward A.L. Roberts began experimenting with exploding torpedoes, which consisted of lowering a torpedo containing an amount of powder from fifteen to tw...
Read more