EID-O's Shawn Bennett discusses the recent Wayne National Forest decision over oil and gas development:

"Last year the Wayne National Forest (WNF) found itself at the center of the ongoing debate over Utica Shale development.  This occurred as leasing proposals were being offered and objections from environmental groups compelled the forest to review their 2006 Forest Plan before moving forward.   Following that review, now officials have declared development can proceed in WNF without any additional regulations or changes to the Forest’s plan due to the safety of these operations and the strong regulations in place in Ohio.

As a result of these objections, in November WNF removed their minerals from being leased.  At the time, WNF Supervisor Anne Carey stated “Based on new information and increased public interest on natural gas exploration, especially deep horizontal drilling, the Forest will soon assemble a team of natural resource specialists to do further analysis.”

When this news was released last year Energy In Depth Ohio examined the decision and found many issues worth addressing.

Since the original announcement, and our response, WNF performed a Review of New Information (RONI) which assisted officials in determining whether the 2006 Forest Plan needed to be amended or revised to support Utica Shale development.   In a letter dated May 3, 2012, the BLM documented that they reviewed and the determined that 13 horizontal well sites (10 on the Marietta Unit and 3 on the Athens Unit) could occur on the WNF for the remainder of the first 10 years (2006-2016) of Forest Plan implementation.

On Monday, Wayne National Forest Supervisor Anne Carey signed a Finding for the Supplemental Information Report which determined there is no need to correct or amend the 2006 Land and Resource Management Plan to address the surface impacts of horizontal development in Wayne National Forrest as well as no need to supplement the Environmental Impact Statement that was prepared for the 2006 Land and Resource Management Plan.

“I have reviewed the new information contained in the Supplemental Information Report, and determined that further environmental analysis is not needed,” said Carey. “I believe that the existing Forest Plan direction is adequate to address the surface effects anticipated from the potential development of horizontal wells as projected by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).”-Wayne National Forest Supervisor Anne Carey

In addition to the statement, WNF also released their Executive Summary for the “Supplemental Information Report Horizontal Drilling Using High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing” which made some key findings on some hot topics regarding shale development in Ohio and across the United States."

READ THE FINDINGS: http://www.eidohio.org/shale-development-allowed-by-wayne-national-...