Fracking Described as “unmitigated disaster” for Drillers and Investors

by Duane Nichols on December 12, 2019

SOURCE: The Liberty Beacon by Nick Cunningham

Letter: Fracking won’t pay off for towns in long run

From a Letter of Tom Sanzillo, Columbus Dispatch, July 30, 2019

The Sunday Dispatch article “Has fracking helped or harmed eastern Ohio?” on fracking’s threat to public health is welcome. But the operation also poses risks to the fiscal health of Ohio communities.

Recently, Steve Schlotterbeck, former CEO of EQT — a major producer in the region — called fracking an “unmitigated disaster” for drillers and investors. The business model has not worked for a decade and is not likely to turn around anytime soon.

For Ohio communities, this means fewer jobs than promised and unstable ones. Tax bases in solid communities will be constantly under assault by large corporations seeking reductions in property tax assessments to the detriment of local budgets.

Instead, many communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania have wisely chosen to pursue high technology, agriculture, stable manufacturing, health care and finance investments to grow a diversified economy. These choices support sectors with actual growth potential as the industrial, coal and heavy manufacturing sectors are in steady decline.

The choice is no longer air and water pollution as the trade-off for economic growth. Yesterday’s solutions no longer meet today’s challenges and local governments must face reality, looking past exaggerated promises of jobs and revenue that are impossible to keep.

>>> Tom Sanzillo, director of finance, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, Cleveland, July 30, 2019

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See also : Antero Resources plans to sell assets in Marcellus, Utica – Pittsburgh Business Times, December 11, 2019

https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2019/12/11/another-driller-plans-to-sell-assets-in-marcellus.html

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