8/11/14 Commissioners triple recommended distance from landfill for oil and gas exploration

  • By Nick Sabo
  • August 11, 2014
  • 355
                        
SUMMARY: Seismic tests will have to stay 500 yards away from landfill. Commissioners say they are wary of seismic testing, which could cause landfill to leak into groundwater. The Holmes County Commissioners are setting the boundaries on oil and gas exploration near the county’s landfill. Meeting with representatives of Precision Geophysical Monday August 11, commissioners said they do not want seismic tests to be conducted any closer than 500 yards from the landfill. Precision Geophysical is planning to carry out a study for natural gas and oil producer Kenoil to determine the potential for new well sites in the area. The study includes multiple properties, including 265 acres of county land. The landfill, which has since been closed and capped, sits on the county land. The 500 yards is three times the distance recommended by North Point Engineering. North Point, which did the engineering for the landfill closure project, set zones of 500 feet for seismic testing and 100 feet for cables. The commissioners said they wanted the extra room because they fear the explosive charges used in seismic testing might damage the landfill’s clay liner, causing the landfill to leak. The county financed the landfill closure with a $2.5 million bond and is required to monitor water quality for 30 years from the closure date. “We just can’t take the risk,” Commissioner Joe Miller said. “We would love to do (the testing) but we can’t put the taxpayers of Holmes County at risk.” Steve McCrossin, with Precision Geophysical, asked the commissioners if they were willing to go with 1,000 feet, double North Point’s recommendation. The commissioners stuck with the 500 yards. The 500 yard zones are specifically for a road, testing wells and ponds, Miller said. The actual distance from the landfill is more like 700 yards, Miller said. Kenoil has one operating well on the property, and the county receives royalties from the well. In 2013, the county received royalties of $937.84. The seismic testing will look into shallow deposits and is not intended to look for deeper deposits that have spurred Ohio’s gas boom. McCrossin said the 500 yards will determine whether the 265 acres of county land can be explored. “We’ll see if we can get the permit for 500 yards,” McCrossin said. “If not, we’ll cancel the project.” Commissioner Rob Ault said the 265 acres is itself a protective zone around the landfill. “That’s why we want all the land around the landfill,” Ault said. “We don’t want to sell it off for houses, we want that buffer.” Ault said he realizes the county will get royalties on any new wells, but “getting seventy some dollars a month”, the average rate from the current well, “isn’t worth it”.


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