Gas and Oil Drilling in Greene County

Update April 2013   At the current time, the permitted well site on Yellow Springs Fairfield Road, has not been drilled.  West Bay Explorations has instead been drilling in other locations within our region.  In other regions in Greene County, a well was drilled in May 2012, but to date no completion report has been turned in to ODNR.  The status of this well is unknown, but two tanks have been installed at the site on the corner of Bone and Hussey Roads in Caesars Creek Township.  (Photo below)

Two tanks have been installed at the site on the corner of Bone and Hussey Roads in Caesars Creek Township.


In Clark County, Pike Township, West Bay drilling operations uncovered oil in the Eau Claire and Knox dolomite, about 1700 feet deep.  Initially this well produced about 10 or more barrels per day, but production has now dropped to five barrels or less.  Although the future of this well is uncertain, over 20 Clark County property owners have signed lease agreements for oil drilling with West Bay Explorations.  In Miami County, Newton Township near Pleasant Hill, a third well was drilled by West Bay.  The production status of this well is not know, however, over 800 acres near Pleasant Hill and the Ludlow Falls area have been leased for drilling.  The following links reference these situations:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local/oil-leases-rising-in-clark-county/nWq27/

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local/company-seeks-local-leases-for-oil/nSPPq/

http://acresmidwest.com/digging-for-black-gold/

In other local news, the Village of Yellow Springs became the first municipality in Ohio to pass legislation banning fracking and injection wells within its borders.  GEC supported the ordinance passed by village council back in October 2012.  This ordinance was initially proposed by GODAE (Gas and Oil Drilling Awareness and Education) a local anti-fracking group, who worked with CELDF (Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund), a nonprofit environmental association of lawyers, that provides legal advise on protecting community rights through legislation.  The ordinance is Community-Rights based, in that it first establishes a Bill of Rights for the community to a clean and healthy environment as determined by the constitution, and then goes on to ban fracking-a practice engaged in by large corporations which deny that right.  Village of Yellow Springs Ordinance 2012-17

Because of the threat of injection wells in Southwest Ohio, due to its unique geology which includes the Mt. Simon Sandstone formation in our area-a geological region established by ODNR that is most suitable for the placement of Class II injection wells- the Miami Conservancy District and the Fairfield-based Hamilton-New Boston Consortium have joined forces to prevent Class II injection wells from being drilled into the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer.  Together they submitted statements to a joint Ohio House and Senate committee that is considering waste well regulation.  Since the Great Miami River aquifer provides drinking water for 1.6 million people, the risks of injection wells are too great to allow them to be drilled through this aquifer.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/waste-well-ban-sought-in-great-miami-aquifer/nRQxP/