The decision by President Barack Obama to halt planned shale drilling in Wayne National Forest could cost Ohio up to 200,000 jobs. The delay ordered through the Department of Agriculture is expected to last six months while a study on hydraulic fracturing is completed. The process, commonly referred to a fracking, infuses a solution of primarily water and saline to open cracks in underground shale to release natural gas.
My Ohio Twitter followers and residents in the counties surrounding the national forest shared their thoughts on the delay and shale drilling via email, instant messaging and in person.
* "If President Obama was truly concerned about how fracking would impact the Wayne, he had months to do a study. Why wait until just a few weeks until the lease auction and drilling was slated to begin? It was purely a political move to appease the green movement that he has virtually ignored since taking office. Fracking has been used for decades, so now there needs to be another study?" -- Rick Landon, construction worker, New Plymouth.
* "Jobs in southern Ohio are few and far between. We do not want to see our beautiful woods destroyed, but I do not think the drilling would have. There are already a bunch of oil and gas wells working in the Wayne National Forest without any problems. The brine water is 90 percent chemical free and pumped through a very thick steel casing to prevent leaking. The last minute delay has a lot more to do with the 2012 election than it does with protecting our environment." -- Duane Hampton, factory worker, Logan.
* "It took President Obama too long to do this, but I am glad he did. Hopefully, he will use the full power of the USDA and EPA to stop all shale drilling. Jobs are nice but if the people who live in southern Ohio do not have clean drinking water, the whole region will become a ghost town." -- Rashawna Eastman, Ohio University graduate student, Columbus.
* "Gov. Kasich has worked on both sides of the aisle, with business and environmental groups to take the state into a greener fuel era with natural gas. The jobs which would be created not only in the Wayne but on other portions of state and federally owned land in Ohio would benefit the entire state. The revenue created from the drilling would spill over into other industries and help small businesses and school levies. Fracking is safe in done correctly and monitored." -- Rita Schroud, retired science teacher, Athens.
* "The Tennessee Gas Pipeline explosion occurred just a few miles from my house, so I am a bit cautious about how well the natural gas industry is policing itself. The government imposed fines and requirements on the company after two earlier explosions in Ohio but did nothing to make sure the repairs actually happened. I support safe drilling in the Wayne and other areas and have more faith in our local workers than I do governmental agencies." -- Chris Talbot, computer technician, Trimble.
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