State officials in Ohio have decided to halt water sales to oil and gas drillers in response to environmental concerns.
The officials overseeing the state’s largest watershed are awaiting a water-availability study to decide upon their next step. Environmentalists and others raised concerns about the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District selling water to drillers. Water is used in the process of hydraulic fracturing, which injects millions of gallons of chemical-laced water into the earth at high pressure to free gas. Conservancy district executive director John Hoopingarner says it’s in the public’s interest to stop the water sales until the district updates its policy on the matter. The Ohio Environmental Council praised the decision, saying more research and public comment is needed. Unfortunately, the district plans to honor its one previously approved sale of 11 million gallons from a Harrison County lake. All of the water used in fracking operations ends up as wastewater. The water flow back from a drill site becomes contaminated with salt, minerals, some radioactive like barium, and the chemicals used in drilling. There is a lot of controversy as to how this wastewater is disposed of. If Ohio decides they want to deplete their aquifers for fracking, must have specific legislation in place to deal with the wastewater caused by it. America has discovered it has found a tremendous energy resource under its feet, but it must deal with the consequences of the pollution such a resource provides.
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