Concerned Athens residents gathered Tuesday evening to, with their testimonies about an injection well being placed in Troy Township, attempt to make their voices heard by policymakers in Columbus.
“We are asking you — I am asking you, my son asks you — let us live,” said Alison Stine, an Athens resident who identified herself as a mother and teacher, in a desperate plea to anyone “watching, listening or reading.”
Stine was one of about 125 people who showed up for the Athens County’s public meeting on an out-of-state company’s application with the state to open a new fracking waste injection well here.
More than 20 speakers expressed outrage during the two-hour forum over the possibility of the state approving the request, submitted by K & H Partners, based in Parkersburg, W.Va.
Commissioner Lenny Eliason said the comments submitted, both written and spoken, will be added to the commissioners’ official minutes and sent to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which has sole authority to regulate mining and drilling in the state, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
Eliason said the commissioners had requested a response to complaints about K & H’s application, adding that “one of the most important things is that we continue to act because if we don’t act, nothing will change.”
But in the 24 hours leading up to the public meeting, commissioners had received two letters from ODNR reminding the commissioners that even if outrage was present among county residents, the department has the authority to move forward.
Heather Cantino, a member of Athens County Fracking Action Network who requested the commissioners hold a public meeting, said the turnout was “great.”
Commissioner Charlie Adkins said the crowd was larger than he had expected.
Many who spoke during the meeting, which took place at the Athens Community Center, 701 E. State St., directed their comments to ODNR and the U.S. EPA directly, urging them to deny the application. Others, like Stine, spoke to their fellow citizens and anyone who might watch video recordings of the meeting or read written accounts.
“As Athens County residents, we gain no benefit from allowing this well in our county,” said Zella Nisley, a member of Athens County Fracking Action Network who lives near an injection well in Ginsberg.
Others, like Jack Wright, of Athens, attended the meeting but decided not to speak.
“I’m here to show support and do what it takes to stop this,” Wright said.
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