It’s not too often that an area gets a second bite at the apple, but that is exactly what is happening in the Mahoning Valley. What is amazing is the number of people who live here that don’t know or understand what is going on. The economic rebirth is so massive and happening so quickly it is beyond comprehension. Now it’s time for the political, business and union leaders of the valley to come together to educate the public as to the bounty and dangers with which we are dealing so that this area can gain the maximum economic advantage while protecting our slice of heaven from legitimate dangers.
The former steel industrial base of this region had its foundation in coal. Brier Hill coal was plentiful and pure. It was the highest grade of coal available back in the day and fueled the Mahoning Valley’s economic boom at the turn of the 20th century making us among the largest steel producing areas in the world at the beginning of World War 1. Now it is natural gas and oil found in the Marcellus and Utica shale fields a mile underneath us.
New methods of drilling called fracking have been perfected over the years. We are familiar with the natural gas wells that drill straight down until pocket a of gas is hit…and we are off to the races. Fracking involves lateral sideways drilling into an underground rock formation and injection of fluids into the well to actually form cracks in the rock releasing carbon fuels. The shale beneath us holds an abundance of natural gas, and oil, that this method of drilling can now tap into. The amount is mind boggling, and can define the economic future of the United States for the next 100 years.
The good news is that natural gas, although a carbon fuel, burns clean and more efficiently than coal. The bad news is that fracking is a nasty business. Drilling sites aren’t the benign operations we are used to with the flag at the top of the drilling rig. These are industrial operations and produce waste water bi-products filled with brine and other chemicals. On the other hand, technology has progressed to the point where many of the concerns have been addressed.
This is a high stake poker game with hundreds of millions dollars if not billions of dollars poised to flow in the Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties. The Vindicator reported last week that Chesapeake and other gas drillers have obtained drilling rights in excess of 80,000 acres of land in Trumbull County alone with signing bonuses in excess of $4500.00/acre. Do the math folks…and this is only the beginning.
In addition, V and M Star is currently building the largest single industrial project in the United States down on the Mahoning River to provide pipe to the gas drillers. While V and M grabs the headlines, numerous smaller support industries are popping up all over from direct industrial supply companies to people providing apartment rentals and temporary housing. It is a boom in every sense of the word.
Casting a cloud over the rebirth is the downright hostility of the Obama administration and his uber aggressive EPA to any carbon fuels. Case in point, Obama is attempting to stall a new economic lifeline to this country by blocking the Keystone Pipeline from Canada to Houston, which would have the effect of making North America almost energy independent. Fracking sends Obama and EPA buddies into a complete rage as they are now beginning the effort to block as much of this economic development as possible.
The current administration is no friend to this kind of development. It is the enemy. That is why it is important that Republicans and Democrats, union officials and businesses, and those legitimate environmental groups who want development with safety rather than no development at all to get together and address the issues this new economic opportunity presents to the Valley.
Whether we like it or not, the future of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania and northwestern West Virginia is in coal and natural gas development. We need to educate ourselves and come together so that we are proactive with a coordinated effort to address the challenges and opportunities that our at our front door. If we watch from the sidelines, we will be throwing it all away.
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