State may sell water for ‘fracking’

By The Columbus Dispatch  • 
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State officials are considering a plan that would let shale-oil drilling companies pay to take water from streams and reservoirs in state parks and forests.

Drilling companies’ growing thirst for water to “frack” Utica shale wells could soon be quenched in Ohio’s parks and forests.Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials are weighing plans that would grant drillers access to state-held reservoirs, lakes and streams.

 For a price.Agency records and emails obtained by The Dispatch show that officials have been discussing the issue since at least April. Natural Resources manages state parks and forests and regulates the drilling industry.

“Access to rivers: Can we charge and how much?” states one undated memo circulated among agency officials. “Access to scenic rivers: Can we do this?”Drilling companies require use as much as 5 million gallons of water to frack a single shale well.

The water is mixed with sand and chemicals, and is pumped underground to fracture the shale and free trapped oil and gas.Companies can take water from Ohio streams and pay to draw water from privately owned ponds. Several companies have signed contracts with cities, paying them for access to drinking-water reservoirs.

The demand for water will grow.

The state estimates that by the end of 2015, there will be 2,250 shale wells.

The use of public water for fracking is a growing issue across eastern Ohio. Environmental groups say that fracking could strain sources for drinking water, boating and wildlife.

“These streams and watercourses are our playgrounds and our drinking water,” said Cheryl Johncox, director of the Buckeye Forest Council. “I see this sell-off of our state resources as incredibly short-sighted.”

Those concerns led the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District to announce on June 7 that it won’t sell water from six reservoirs until a water-availability study is completed.

Nine state parks and two forests that feature reservoirs, lakes or central streams are located within a 16-county region of eastern Ohio where shale drilling is the most active. Natural Resources officials looking to lease state lands for drilling named the area “Tier 1” because of the intense interest from energy companies.Carlo LoParo, a Natural Resources spokesman, said the agency’s water plans are still being developed.

“Our goal is to develop a plan that will allow for the use of water if, based on a detailed analysis, withdrawal of that water does not cause a negative impact to navigation, recreation or wildlife,” LoParo said.

Records include a draft copy of a water-leasing policy dated April 16 that quotes a state law granting the authority to sell water from state-held lands when it is “advantageous.” Where reservoirs are concerned, the law bars sales that would hinder recreation or wildlife.

Officials also questioned how much money the state could make. “One company paid 1 penny per gallon or $10 per 1,000 gallons,” according to the undated memo.Muskingum Watershed Conservancy officials have asked the U.S. Geological Survey for a study of its Atwood, Clendening and Leesville reservoirs.Greg Koltun, a hydrologist in the Geological Survey’s Columbus office, said results should be available by the end of the year.

The survey will focus on water that’s discharged from each reservoir’s dam. Koltun said the analysis will subtract what’s needed to maintain drinking-water supplies and downstream wildlife to calculate the amount of “excess” water.

Lea Harper, a member of the Southeast Ohio Alliance to Save Our Water, questioned why conservancy districts would want to sell water. As many as a dozen oil and gas companies have asked to draw water from six district reservoirs.

“They should be working with us to help preserve and protect that water,” Harper said.Darrin Lautenschleger, a conservancy district spokesman, said his agency includes industry among its “ beneficial public uses” of water.“Conservation involves the wise use of a natural resource, and that’s something we take very seriously,” he said.