If Oxford wants to be a major player then they need to start acting like one!

This is from the Barnesville Enterprise.

Letter to the Editor
Concerns over gas/oil companies

Published: November 23, 2011 12:58PM

Editor:

The other day I saw an Oxford oil tanker truck spewing smoke by the stream below Barnesville’s waste water treatment plant. It was either pumping water out of the creek or dumping something into the creek. The truck driver would not say which it was.

This is disturbing on a number of levels. If he was dumping, it is simply unacceptable due to the potential damage to aquatic life and the livestock that drink from the stream. Likewise, pumping will decrease stream flow and could be equally harmful. But what is most troubling is that Oxford, a company that would appear to be in line for a gigantic windfall with its $5 per acre leases, is operating on the cheap. I would suggest that they support the local economy by buying water from Barnesville as other gas and oil companies do. Or if they want to keep pumping water out of our streams (the water does belong to the citizens!), pay the townships for the water. Either way the money can be well spent repairing the roads that are already suffering from heavy truck traffic.

It appears that gas and oil is about to boom in SE Ohio. The good news is that our economy will benefit. The bad news is that the state is unlikely to get serious about regulating the industry for fear of discouraging them from investing here. It’s up to us to ensure that, in extracting a resource from two miles below our feet, the industry doesn’t do damage to the resources right here at our feet - our fields, forests, and streams.

Leonard Guindon,

Barnesville

 

Views: 1531

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on December 4, 2011 at 2:29am

This might explain why Oxford is pumping water out of creeks.

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on December 4, 2011 at 2:46am

I also wonder if Oxford is trying to put in as many wells as they can in before the big players start.  I'm still not sure how our pooling laws are going to work when Oxford has so much acreage leased.

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on December 4, 2011 at 8:20am
If you look at the wellplats for many of their recent wells in Belmont, the well plats don't look like a typical vertical well plat as they are 150-200+ acres and long narrow rectangles in shape. Many of these wells are deep at around 10,000 feet. This makes me believe they intend to drill some of these as deep horizontal Utica wells at some point in the future.
0i7okn54zwbdoPermalink Reply by 0i7okn54zwbdo on December 6, 2011 at 4:45am
They also released thousands of acres in 2010 and 2011 because they couldn't afford to pay all of their rentals.
Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on January 5, 2012 at 6:14am

At least Oxford is now paying for the water.  Even if they won't get a bond for road damage.

This is from last weeks BARNESVILLE ENTERPRISE

• Oxford Oil to use Michelli Street, buy water from village for fracking

Cathryn Stanley Editor Published: December 29, 2011 9:23AM

Despite having been asked to make considerations for noise and traffic for Emerald Pointe Nursing and Rehabilitation, a representative of Oxford Oil said drilling on property behind the nursing home and the subsequent use of Michelli Street, will proceed, with drilling to begin no later than Dec. 28.

Village and Warren Township officials met with a representative of the company on December 1 to discuss road bonds. Council had requested more information from the company’s representative.

In addition to wear and tear on Michelli Street, council members were concerned about the noise level of the drilling. At the Monday, Dec. 19 council meeting, the Oxford Oil representative said that once it begins, drilling cannot be stopped and will occur around the clock, unless the equipment breaks down. She said the drilling would take seven days at the most and the “fracking” itself would occur once a week for approximately 10 weeks.

She said the company would not agree to a road bond, because it is not required by law, a statement that surprised some village officials.

“I though we were working together on this,” said councilman Terry McCort.

“We expect a little cooperation from those seeking our help,” said Village Solicitor Marlin Harper.

Harper said the road was public property and its use could not be prohibited, noting that the area is outside village limits. He said if damage did occur to the road, the company could be held responsible.

“I just don’t see why we, collectively, can’t be more authoritative in the use of the street,” said Economic Development Advisor Bill Knox.

The Oxford Oil representative said she video-taped the current condition of the road and gave her word that the company would repair any damage that occurs to Michelli Street from the company’s trucks and equipment. Village officials have also documented the street’s current condition.

Harper said the company will be held liable whether they have an agreement with the village or not.

“The key was to get some security, but they refuse to give security,” he said.

“The road is important, but it is the people out there who are more important,”McCort added.

Despite not seeing eye to eye on the street bond and noise considerations, council agreed (with McCort voting no) to sell water to the company at the out of village rate of $9.75 per thousand, with the stipulation that if the water usage causes any pressure or other problems, the water usage would be shut off.

At a previous meeting, the Oxford Oil representative said that if the company purchased water (to be accessed from a nearby fire hydrant) it would reduce the truck traffic on Michelli Street.

“It is like a double edged sword,” Bunting said of the water sale.

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