From the AP, 10/3/05:

 

 

Drillers in state parks would face many hurdles

By John Mccarthy

Associated Press

 

COLUMBUS | Energy companies hoping to tap Ohio's state parks for natural gas that's been selling at record prices face several hurdles, starting with an Ohio law that says it's illegal.

 

Interest in drilling has been kindled by a spike in prices owing to Hurricane Katrina's damage to gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. Natural gas hit a record $14.19 per million British thermal units last week but fell to $13.95 on Friday.

 

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/1003ohparkdrill.html

 

From the 10/18/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Senate to mull logging on state land

Bill inviting timbering plans irks activists

By JIM PROVANCE

BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU

 

COLUMBUS - Environmentalists accused lawmakers yesterday of trying to take advantage of increased demand for natural gas and oil drilling on state lands to step up logging in Ohio forests, parks, and nature preserves.

 

A Senate bill, set for its first hearing tomorrow, would create a committee to consider proposed leases of public land for drilling or timbering. The revenue generated would go toward a capital fund for new visitor centers, park cabins, land preservation, and other capital projects.

 

Contact Jim Provance at:

[email protected] or 614-221-0496.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051018/NEWS09/510180410/-1/NEWS

 

How much natrural gas (methane) can be recovered from Landfills?

 

(I always see the eternal flame atop Mt Columbus)

That's a good question.  I wonder if landfills could produce enough methane to make energy uses feasible.  A Google search for "landfill methane as energy" brought up a ton of stuff, so it's being done.

From the 11/13/05 Enquirer:

 

 

Oil, timber interests calling

Senate bill would open Ohio parks to cutting, drilling

By Jon Craig

Enquirer Columbus Bureau

 

COLUMBUS - Proposed legislation to open state parks to oil and gas drilling also would open state parks, nature preserves and wildlife areas to commercial logging.

 

At least eight state parks and nature preserves in southwestern Ohio could be logged under Senate Bill 193, state officials said.

 

Source: Ohio Environmental Council[/color]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051113/NEWS01/511130371/-1/rss

 

From the 12/9/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Battle begins over Hueston Woods logging proposal

 

OXFORD — Hueston Woods’ old growth forest may become home to a new species sprouting between the beech and maple — the chainsaw. The seed for such a sight was planted in recently-introduced state senate legislation, which would allow oil and gas drilling as well as logging in all state parks and preserves. One of S.B. 193’s co-sponsors is local state Sen. Gary Cates who asserted that he is motivated by “pure public interest” to wean Ohioans off foreign oil.

 

“We can’t continue to rely on foreign oil in terms of reliability or in terms of price,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll find something that balances the concerns of the environmental community against the needs of our energy sources.”

 

Contact Dave Clark at (513) 523-4139 or [email protected]

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/08/HJN1209WOODS.html

 

From the 12/11/05 Ravenna Record-Courier:

 

 

Bid to drill on state land spurs concerns Kent Bog, other Portage properties could be affected by bill

By Mike Sever

Record-Courier staff writer

 

Could the horizon of Kent Bog soon feature a natural gas well drilling rig? That’s the concern of local environmentalists. Two proposed changes in state law would open state-owned property to oil and natural gas drilling on state-owned property, including under Lake Erie. Drilling under Lake Erie currently is prohibited by federal law.

 

Portage County has several thousand acres of state-owned properties, including ecologically unique areas of bogs, fens and other state nature preserves.

 

http://www.recordpub.com/article.php?pathToFile=/archive/12112005/news/&file=_news2.txt&article=1&tD=12112005

 

From the 2/19/06 AP:

 

 

National-forest logging upsets conservationists

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

NELSONVILLE, Ohio - A new plan for managing Ohio's only national forest calls for giving high preservation status to 11 percent of the land while designating about 8 percent for logging. Conservationists are upset, arguing that timber harvest activities could spread beyond the 18,000 acres slated to be cut.

 

Wayne National Forest covers nearly 240,000 acres in three units across 12 southern and southeast Ohio counties.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060219/NEWS01/602190364/1056/rss02

 

Well of course, let's just destroy the environment; future generations don't need it :sarcasm:

An event worth noting relating to this thread....

 

Conservation Lobby Day next week--**Tuesday March 7**  

 

Register today at:  www.theOEC.org

 

We're meeting at *9 a.m. at the YWCA Griswold Building, 65 S. Fourth

Street*, downtown Columbus where we'll provide a briefing on our top

conservation issues. We'll be having lunch with lawmakers at noon in the

Statehouse Atrium as well as having Statehouse tours and meetings with

key lawmakers throughout the day.

 

The Ohio General Assembly soon will consider a bill that will radically alter the way our State Parks and State Nature Preserves are managed. 

 

Under the draft bill, all state parks and state nature preserves would be open to oil and gas drilling...with no protective distance setbacks to separate oil and gas drilling activity and campsites and recreational areas...no assessment or protection priorities for areas with special ecological, recreational, scenic, or historic value...and with no requirement for Ohio park and preserves managers to have final say over the terms and conditions of any drilling.

 

In the meantime, some lawmakers are trying to roll-back Ohio's

environmental laws by prohibiting them from being more protective than

federal laws.  Together, these bills propose what I believe to be the

biggest rollback of Ohio's environmental laws in our state's history.

 

It is time for all of us who care about our parks and natural areas to enter the fray and stand up, speak out, and be heard.

 

Everyday, lobbyists for extractive industries make the rounds at the Statehouse, pitching their ideas to our representatives.  It is time that our state lawmakers heard from the friends of Ohio's parks and natural areas! 

 

Please plan to gather with concerned citizens from around the state in Columbus next Tuesday, March 7th as we make the rounds at Conservation Lobby Day 2006 -- a full day of issue briefing, networking, and lawmaker education about our conservation priorities.

 

Come one, come all.  No experience necessary.  Other environmental-conservation topics welcome. Group discounts available!

 

To read the schedule and to register on line for the March 7 Conservation Lobby Day, go to:

 

http://www.theoec.org/

 

Or call the Ohio Environmental Council at 614-487-7506

 

Hope to see some of you again next week!

 

Susan Studer King

Development Director

Ohio Environmental Council

1207 Grandview Avenue, Suite 201

Columbus, Ohio  43212

P: 614-487-7506

F: 614-487-7510

E: [email protected]

 

Support the OEC at:  http://www.theoec.org/donate.html

 

 

 

In response to the earlier post about what can be done with the methane gas generated by landfills, check out what the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) is doing...

 

Powered by Trash

Energy to be produced from the

SWACO Landfill

 

 

Trash from SWACO’s Franklin County landfill will soon be transformed into American made energy.  Ground has been broken by SWACO and FirmGreen (FG) of Newport Beach, California for the $18-million Green Energy Center.  The process will convert landfill gas into methane and CO2.  Eventually the project is designed to produce seven (7)-million gallons of methanol annually and could lead to Fuel Cell development.  When operational, The Center will annually reduce greenhouse gases in an amount equal to the removal of nearly 2,000 cars from the road, reduce oil consumption by 20,800 barrels, or the planting of 2,600 acres of trees.

 

The first phase of the project, which will be operational by year’s end, is designed to provide electricity to power SWACO’s Administration, Educational, and Fleet Maintenance buildings.  The energy produced should make SWACO 95% energy self-sufficient, and save an estimated 10% on the Authority’s electric bill and approximately 15% on its costs for propane.  “This is just the beginning of a very promising economic development story,” says SWACO Executive Director Mike Long.  “This process will take what we don’t want, our trash, and turn it into what we do want and need; energy and jobs.” 

 

"We look forward to working with the team at SWACO to build our first Green Energy Center (G.E.C.) in the U.S.” says Steven Wilburn, President of FirmGreen Energy, Inc.  “FirmGreen believes the G.E.C. Program will provide significant benefits to both SWACO and the local community in the form of environmentally sound waste resource management, clean renewable energy, the creation of construction and permanent skilled jobs, and generation of increased tax revenue from an enlarged industrial tax base.”

 

 

 

The second phase of the project will involve the cleaning and conversion of the landfill gas into Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).  That CNG will fuel SWACO transfer trucks and other SWACO vehicles and save around $100,000 a year in fleet fuel costs.  Long continues, “instead of just burying our trash, we can begin to mine it, and put our throwaways to good use.”  The CNG conversion process is scheduled to be operational within nine months.  The same landfill gas CNG process could power school and transit buses locally.

 

http://swaco.org/swacoNews.htm#PoweredbyTrash