Groups blast state forest fracking plan (Ohio)

[theHandpuppet]

Groups blast state forest fracking plan
By: Spencer Hunt

The Columbus Dispatch - August 01, 2013 09:40 AM
http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/science-environment/2013/07/blue-rock-forest.html

A coalition of environmental groups have sent a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to protest the federal agency's plan to open Ohio's Blue Rock State Forest for fracking.

“Blue Rock State Forest is a natural treasure that belongs to all Ohioans,”Nathan Johnson, staff attorney of the Buckeye Forest Council, said in a release. “We are stunned the BLM would attempt to frack our forest without making sure citizens and state government had a chance to respond to the plan and make their concerns known.”

The letter asks that Land Management allow the public time to comment on the planned auction of mineral rights beneath the state forest located in Muskingum County. The agency closed the comment period on April 25, and the groups claim the public wasn't given adequate notice.

Land Management officials agreed to put the planned Dec. 12 auction on hold after Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials told them they also didn't know about it and hadn't given their consent.

MORE at link

[mbperrin]

1. What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

Might ask the folks at Cold Lake in Canada.

[theHandpuppet]

2. What really gets me....

... is that folks have the mistaken impression that faults exist only in the west, and that the only earthquake we ever need worry about east of the Mississippi would occur at New Madrid. Faults exist everywhere and I worry just how many permits are being handed out without any concern for fault areas.

OHIO
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/geosurvey/html/fltmap/tabid/8306/Default.aspx
http://www.ohiodnr.com/geosurvey/html/geo_f03/tabid/8307/Default.aspx
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/ohio/hazards.php

[theHandpuppet]

3. Find the fracking well near you

Here are some links to maps indicating fracking operations in Ohio. Compare that with the seismic maps I linked in the previous post.

http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/99999999/DATABASES/120809005/Ohio-fracking-map-database
http://innovationohio.org/fracking-map/
http://batchgeo.com/map/f92ae90c328f8349f5d341a809ded836
http://ohiosierraclub.org/2013/04/find-a-fracking-well-near-you/

[limpyhobbler]

4. bummer that they are going to frack a forest like that.