Last night the Gas Well Committee weighed in on the issue of drilling in the park. Three members (Council President Scott Mills, David Lees and Paul Berne) concluded that there were no suitable drilling sites in the park. The remaining four members recommended two sites each. Significantly, one of the sites recommended by Mayor Scott Coleman and Park & Recreation rep Tony Valentino is located in a county-identified wetlands.
My Comments to Council:
I asked residents attending the Gas Well Committee meeting last night what they wanted me to communicate to you tonight.
One thing the residents want to know is who in the city is going to be held accountable for the Bass Energy drilling fiasco?
It is clear by now that proper due diligence was never undertaken, that city ordinances were violated, and that the restrictions placed in the authorizing resolution were ignored. Major mistakes were made. You may settle with Bass, but what are you going to do to make things right with the residents, who trusted you to act properly and to follow our laws?
Aside from accountability, there’s the issue of the wetlands.
Last night, each Gas Well Committee member was asked to express an opinion about possible drilling sites in the park. Three of the 7 members flatly declared that there were no safe drilling sites.
Mayor Coleman and Tony Valentino, the park & rec representative, however, disagreed. They chose the same two drilling sites. One of those sites—the one just off the new park parking lot--is in a county-designated wetlands area.
That’s totally outrageous.
I don’t know if you saw the new map that the city engineer’s office gave to the gas well committee last week. It shows, for the first time, the numerous county-identified wetlands in the park. One of those wetlands runs north and east from Kennelwood drive.
In fact, the new map confirms what many residents have long suspected: that a large part of the new park parking lot was built on those wetlands.
While Mr. Mader didn’t want to personally vouch for the county-identified wetlands, a detailed study conducted by a Phd candidate several years ago confirms both their existence and location in the park.
The city is now on notice.
You can’t ignore the designated wetlands simply because they are inconvenient or in the way of where you want to let Bass Energy drill a gas well.
The city should have gotten a permit before it built the new park parking lot on the wetlands. Although that horse is out of the barn and that portion of the wetlands has already been destroyed, the horse isn’t out of the barn with regard to the remaining wetlands. Due diligence requires that you either disprove the county’s wetlands designation or get a permit before allowing any drilling on any wetland areas of the park.
Wetlands are important. But let me tell what really bothers the residents the most.
Residents really want to know why you are so willing to throw our safety and the safety of our children under the bus. They want to know why you aren’t willing to stand up and do all you can to fight to protect our kids.
From all appearances, council has decided to let Bass Energy drill frac gas wells in the park. As the former ODNR inspector told the Gas Well Committee last week, drilling is a very messy business, there are alot of spills, and there are not enough ODNR inspectors to ensure safety.
The fracking process involves pumping toxic chemicals into the ground to fracture rock. That process releases dangerous hydrogen sulphide and radon into the air; it has caused groundwater to become flammable, and it has led to countless fires and explosions around the country. Gas is still leaking underground in Bainbridge. Those people---most of whom never signed a drilling lease—will never be able to sell their homes.
The Gas Well Committee members who recommended drilling sites recommended placing the tank battery---the installation of tanks that holds oil and drilling-related toxic industrial waste--- right next to Gas Well Alley---the path that children from the west side of the city use all summer, to walk to and from the park. Talk about an attractive nuisance. I don’t care how high a fence you put around it, the kids will be able to get in. And if anything spills, they’ll be walking right through the mess.
The Committee was told that Bass intended to put a gas line along gas well alley. Gas lines can explode, as we all know.
The risk of toxic emissions, toxic spills, fires, and explosions. That’s what you are saying yes to, that’s what you are willing to expose our kids to, in rushing to settle with Bass.
As one of the insurance professionals on the Gas Well Committee said last night, “For 30 years, I’ve been dealing with the aftermath of catastrophic events. Very rarely do you get a chance to intervene to stop them before they happen.”
The residents want to know why you’d rather settle with Bass and allow drilling in our park. Why you prefer that, instead of going to arbitration and fighting as hard as you can to protect our kids from being exposed to all that.
Residents want to know: Why are you so willing to throw our kids under the bus?
Want to know more?
Read more about the Gas Well Committee and the decision facing Council on a new local online newspaper, www.patch.com.
http://hillcrest.patch.com/articles/no-clear-decision-about-gas-wells-at-highland-heights-park
http://hillcrest.patch.com/articles/highland-heights-residents-concerned-about-gas-wells-at-park
