Although the opponents of hydraulic fracturing have clashed in recent months with landowners who have leased their mineral rights, emergency services across Athens County have collaborated to create safety measures in the event of a mining disaster.
Despite disaster planning from two county committees, some Athens City officials and residents remained worried that current safety measures could be stronger.
The Local Emergency Planning Committee and Communication Tactical Advisory Committee mitigate major incidences in the county such as floods, ice storms, fires — and now oil and gas accidents.
Athens County Emergency Management Agency, Athens County Commissioner Larry Payne, Athens Police, and Athens Fire have prepared for potential oil and gas disasters, EMA Director Fred Davis said.
Athens is as prepared for a mining disaster as it would be for any other type of accident, Davis said.
“We prepare and respond in the same way as any other major accident,” he said. “But this does call for some specific measures and coordination with the oil companies themselves.”
Davis added that, though the committees are still in the preliminary stages of establishing the best way to respond to an incident, their role would most likely be to respond quickly to the disaster and focus on containment.
“Lets say there is a well blowout,” he said. “It is the company’s job to figure out a way to put out that fire and our job to contain it and make sure our community is safe.”
Athens Fire is not equipped to handle an oil and gas situation on its own and would require assistance, Davis said.
Though she said that preparations are a step in the right direction, Christine Hughes, owner of Village Bakery, said drilling should not be permitted in Athens because residents should not have to worry about oil and gas accidents at all.
“I think they should demand that we are not subjected to something like these accidents that we’re obviously not prepared for,” Hughes said. “We don’t have enough funding; we don’t have enough government support to correct these things when they go wrong.”
Davis said the committees will focus on assuring residents of their preparedness by performing a scenario to practice responding to a situation like a well blowout.
“Folks should feel like we are being proactive,” Davis said. “This is nothing new — just a new challenge that we will deal with very well.”
Though Councilman Kent Butler (D-1st Ward) said he is confident that Athens’ emergency services are well trained to respond to disasters, he said the city is better prepared for these catastrophes than rural areas, where mining accidents are more likely to occur.
“The residents out of the city’s limits are the one’s without all the resources and that is very frightening,” Butler said.
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