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Youngstown "Community Bill of Rights" Frack Ban, Issue 4 (November 2014)
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Not on ballot
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A Youngstown "Community Bill of Rights" Frack Ban Charter Amendment, Issue 4 was on the November 4, 2014 election ballot for voters in the City of Youngstown in Mahoning County, Ohio, where it was defeated.[1]
If Youngstown's voters had approved Issue 4, it would have banned fracking in the City of Youngstown. Specifically, it would have:
- Prohibited "unconventional natural gas extraction using horizontal hydraulic fracturing"
- Banned "the establishment of infrastructures supporting gas production"
- Banned "the storage, transportation or depositing of gas drilling waste products" in Youngstown.
The November 4 vote was the fourth time residents of Youngstown were asked to weigh in on whether to ban fracking. Voters rejected the previous three efforts to ban fracking. Two efforts made the ballot and were defeated by voters in 2013, once in May and again in November. Voters also rejected a frack ban amendment on the May 6, 2014 ballot.
Election results
| Youngstown Issue 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 No | 7,323 | 57.68% | ||
| Yes | 5,373 | 42.32% | ||
- Election results from the Mahoning County Elections Office
Support
Issue 4 was supported by the organizations Protect Youngstown and Frackfree Mahoning Valley.
Susie Beiersdorfer, a spokesperson, said, "Our local and state governments are broken. They’re putting corporations before the health, safety and property rights of citizens."[1]
Opposition
Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 396 opposed Issue 4. They contributed roughly $71,000 to the campaign against the measure as of late October.
Butch Taylor, a spokesperson, said, "We look at it as a detriment to the jobs that are being created. We don’t want to limit any of our options. There’s been growth in shale development, and there’s potential for greater growth. This could impact that." Taylor also said, "I am disappointed we have to keep campaigning against this. Their fight is with the state."[1]
Fracking in Ohio
- See also: Fracking in Ohio
The first oil well was drilled in Ohio in 1895, and production has been occurring ever since. Just over 75 percent of counties in Ohio have commercial oil and gas resources, although production is concentrated in the eastern half of the state.[2] From 1895 to 2009 Ohio produced more than 1 billion barrels of oil and 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. One barrel of oil produces about 19 gallons of gas.[3] Ohio sits on top of the Utica shale formation, which is expected to hold between 5.5 to 25 billion barrels of oil and 15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.[4] Fracking began in Ohio in 1952, and from then until 2009 fracking has been used to extract oil and gas from 80,306 wells.[5]
The map to the right shows the active horizontal and directional wells in Mahoning County as of March 18, 2014. The blue dots mark where a well has been permitted but not yet drilled. Dark pink indicates active injection is happening at that well. Yellow signifies a well that is being drilled. Green indicates that a well is producing. Light pink denotes that the well is plugged. Salmon means that the well is inactive. Orange means the well is dry and abandoned.[6]
Oil and gas drilling is regulated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Oil and Gas Resources. The division is responsible for regulating oil and gas operations, drilling, underground injection and brine disposal. The ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources is also responsible for inspecting the drilling, plugging and restoration of wells and well sites.[7] On June 11, 2012, Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 315, creating new regulations applying to fracking. This bill created a chemical disclosure requirement, set up rules for chemical sharing among doctors, required water sampling, created daily fines of up to $20,000 for noncompliance and increased operator liability for horizontal wells.[8]
Similar measures
- See also: Notable 2014 local measures
Local measures
Denton, Texas (November 2014)
Athens, Ohio Issue 7 (November 2014)
Santa Barbara, California Measure P (November 2014)
San Benito County, California Measure J (November 2014)
Mendocino County, California Measure S (November 2014)
Gates Mills, Ohio Issue 51 (November 2014)
Youngstown, Ohio Issue 4 (November 2014)
Kent, Ohio Issue 21
City of Niles "Community Bill of Rights" Fracking Ban Initiative (November 2014)
City of Loveland Two Year Fracking Suspension Initiative, Question 1 (June 2014)
Youngstown "Community Bill of Rights" Fracking Ban Charter Amendment (May 2014)
Johnson County Fracking Ban Referendum (March 2014)
Statewide measures
Colorado Fracking Ban Initiative (2014)
Michigan Fracking Ban Initiative (2014)
External links
Support
- Protect Youngstown website
- Frackfree Mahoning Valley website
- Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund website
Opposition
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Youngstown Vindicator, "For 4th time, Youngstown voters asked to ban fracking", October 26, 2014; retrieved October 26, 2014
- ↑ Department of Natural Resources, "Oil and Gas Fields Map of Ohio," accessed March 18, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Frequently Asked Questions," May 30, 2013, accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ Energy in Depth, Ohio, "Ohio Energy 101," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ PolitiFact.com, "State Sen. Kris Jordan says 'fracking' has been used more than 60 years in Ohio," June 15, 2011, accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Department of Natural Resources, "Ohio Oil & Gas Wells," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ IDNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources, "About Us," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources, "SB 315 Information," accessed March 18, 2014
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