Residents Hear from Those Who Have Seen Fracking
Athens OH Messenger
30 January 2012
By Casey Elliott, Staff Journalist
[Note: A
.pdf file of Dr. Bond's presentation may be found here.]
Residents and concerned individuals gathered Saturday to find out
more about the personal experiences of two individuals who have
seen the effects of fracking firsthand — one of whom was featured
in the popular documentary “Gasland.”
Calvin Tillman, former mayor of Dish, Texas, and S. Thomas Bond, a
retired teacher with a doctorate in inorganic chemistry, both
spoke out against hydraulic fracturing to a packed crowd in Morton
Hall on the Ohio University campus on Saturday.
Tillman, who was featured in “Gasland,” said he experienced
firsthand the environmental and health impacts of wells in the
small town of Dish. Tillman, who started out attempting to work
with the gas companies involved in the drilling, became concerned
when he and residents noticed overpowering odors in the air
following the construction of dehydrating equipment in the area
and industry surveys indicated there were no emissions problems.
Tillman said a study paid for by his town showed high levels of
suspected human carcinogens. Those studies prompted further
studies by government agencies, which resulted in some changes,
but the issues continued.
Tillman also spoke of a Texan named Tim Ruggiero, who had
purchased a property with 10 acres for horses, but one day a gas
company had set up shop on his site, reducing the amount of land
he and his family could utilize. Tillman said Ruggiero did not own
the mineral rights on his property, so oil and gas companies could
use the land as they pleased to extract minerals.
Ruggiero eventually saw his property value drop from $360,000 to
about $75,000 because of the equipment on the land, and he was
unable sell the land, according to Tillman.
“It’s heart wrenching when I talk to someone who wanted to get out
and just can’t,” because they could not sell their property, he
said.
Tillman himself decided to move from Dish in 2011 after realizing
his young children’s nosebleeds — which they did not have prior to
the odor problem and gas extraction work — were linked to the
emissions. Since he moved, his children no longer have the
nosebleeds.
“I didn’t come here to tell you what to do or not to do,” he said,
with a picture of the industrial work at a gas site next door to a
home in the background. “But that picture — that’s what Athens
will look like in 15 years.”
Tillman urged residents to study up on the issues and be sure that
whatever they choose to do with their property, they have all the
facts before they make their decision.
Bond, who taught at Salem College for 19 years and is a lifelong
farmer, spoke of the impacts of fracking to the environment, land
owners and future resources.
“It’s frequently not wise to rush in and use the easiest resource
for one’s immediate needs,” he said. “We need to preserve
resources, to carefully measure out those that are truly needed,
and to cultivate appropriate ways to use them to get the most
benefit.”
Bond said fracking releases chemicals into the air, groundwater
can be polluted from runoff from fracking and other mining
processes, and the industrial work created by the collection of
oil or gas adds to strain on area roads from trucking. In
addition, the extraction sites can destroy surface beauty,
decimate forests, ruin property values and impact the health of
those living nearby.
Bond added there is always a risk of explosions at extraction
sites, and jobs generated are generally for those from outside the
area, who come in, work long hours for a few months and then leave
to the next job.
“Hourly wages are high, but the conditions are so difficult it
attracts drifters,” he said.
Bond also encouraged attendees to do their research, and stressed
that green energy is the best way forward.
Oil and gas union members from the International Union of
Operating Engineers Local 18 in Ohio were present at the talk to
show their support for the industry itself. Organizing Director
and Business Representative Premo Panzarello said he was
particularly displeased with comments about transient workers, and
said employees in his union handle the heavy operations for all
types of energy generation.
“We’ve built solar farms, windmills, gas lines,” he said, adding
that no matter what they build, someone is always concerned about
the potential impacts — be it birds, bats or humans. “We’re just
good, hard-working people.”
He said many of the members in their union’s main concern is
safety.
“Everybody wants it to be done safely,” he said. “That’s what it’s
all about.”
celliott@athensmessenger.com