Preservation Campaign News

Ohio PIRG Report Documents Potential Threats to Ohio's Economy, Environment and Public Health

(Columbus, Ohio) - Drilling for natural gas and oil in Lake Erie would pose threats to the economy, environment, and human health, according to a new report by the Ohio Public Interest Research Group (Ohio PIRG). Never before released information about the impacts of drilling on the Canadian side of Lake Erie show it to be both polluting and accident-prone. According to Ohio PIRG, oil and gas drilling's significant health, economic, and environmental toll would come for a mere eight days of natural gas supply for Ohio per year. Dirty Drilling: The Threat of Oil and Gas Drilling in Lake Erie is available on the web at www.environmentohio.org/reports.

"This report documents the myriad of potential impacts from natural gas and oil drilling in Lake Erie. Drilling in the lake poses an unacceptable risk to human health, the environment, and the economy. Despite these facts, oil and gas companies have been relentless in their efforts to open the lake to drilling," said Bryan M. Clark, Legislative Advocate for Ohio PIRG and author of the report.

The report finds that fifty-one natural gas spills directly associated with gas drilling in Canada's portion of Lake Erie were documented between 1997-2001- an average of almost a spill per month. Between 1990 and 1995 there were eighty-three petroleum spills into the Canadian side of Lake Erie. Less than half (45%) of these spills have been cleaned up.

"Canadian drilling has been far from problem free. In fact, drilling has subjected Lake Erie to an average of twelve natural gas spills per year, that's about one spill a month," said Clark.

If drilling was permitted on the Ohio side of Lake Erie, tourism would suffer, according to the report. The report finds the following:

• Three weeks of tourism along Lake Erie adds more money than a whole year of natural gas drilling in the lake would add to Ohio's economy.
• Just one beach closing - which could arise from natural gas leaks or spills - would result in an estimated $3.75 million dollars of lost tourism revenue.
• Charter boat companies would be especially affected by drilling, producing a ripple effect on the local tourism economy. Every $100 invested in charter boating multiplies into an additional $162 dollars for other area businesses.

"Oil or gas drilling in Lake Erie would pose a major problem for the future of charter boating and fishing in the lake. It can be inconvenient and nerve-racking to have to navigate around drill wells or pipelines while trolling for walleye," said Captain Vitas Kijauskas, the owner of the Wildwood Marina and captain of Discovery Dive Charters and Tours on Lake Erie.

"Thanks to years of Lake Erie protection efforts, the lake is now a favorite destination for Ohio's boaters and anglers," added Michael Utt, President of the Ohio Smallmouth Alliance. "Opening the Lake to oil and gas drilling would harm area wildlife and that hurts anglers and businesses alike."

Oil and gas drilling would also have a significant impact on human health and the environment. The report documents the following environmental and human health threats:

• Typical drilling wastes contain a host of toxic chemicals- including lead, mercury and chromium- that are linked to birth defects and are hazardous to wildlife. Many of these toxic chemicals can accumulate in fish that are part of the human diet.
• Routine discharges and accidental spills could contaminate the drinking water source for millions of Ohioans.
• Drilling would jeopardize vital wildlife habitat for bald eagles, the great blue heron, and endangered snakes. Up to 3,000 football fields of land along the lake could have to be occupied by drilling equipment to accommodate achieve peak production.

Currently, there are no permanent protections against drilling in Lake Erie. Ohio PIRG recommends that the state of Ohio permanently protect Lake Erie from drilling in or under the lake. "As other Great Lake states ban drilling in their waters, there will be even more pressure by the oil and gas industry to open up Ohio's Lake Erie to drilling. The time is now to permanently protect our lake from natural gas and oil drilling," said Clark.

"Ohio needs clean energy solutions, not Lake Erie pollution," stated Marc Conte, Legislative Coordinator for the Sierra Club, Ohio Chapter. "Many simple efficiency measures could save as much natural gas as would ever be available from the lake." Ohio PIRG proposed the creation of tax rebates and incentives for the purchase of energy efficiency appliances and a renewable portfolio standard that would require 20% of the electricity sold in Ohio to come from renewable sources by 2020. For instance, fitting nine out of ten Ohio homes with programmable thermostats would save more natural gas than will ever be available in Lake Erie, according to the report.

"Using straight forward energy efficiency measures and a moving towards renewable energy supplies can save more power then would ever be recoverable from Lake Erie. We've invested millions of dollars and innumerable hours restoring Lake Erie, oil and gas drilling would turn back the clock on Lake Erie protection. It's time for permanent protection from oil and gas drilling in the lake, " Clark concluded.

 *** 

Ohio PIRG is a non-profit, non-partisan, state-based advocate for the public interest. Our mission is to deliver persistent, results-oriented activism that encourages a fair, sustainable economy, protects the environment, and fosters responsive, democratic government.

The Sierra Club is the nation's oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization with 700,000 members nationwide and 17,000 in Ohio. The Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club was chartered in 1968 and has an extensive history of grassroots environmental activism in Ohio.

Ohio Smallmouth Alliance is a statewide conservation oriented angling organization dedicated to preserving Smallmouth Bass fishing in Ohio watersheds through education, conservation and responsible management.