North Canton City Council Turns Attention to Fracking

Plain Township resident Lou Giavasis spoke to North Canton City Council Monday night about fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, and the impact that it may have on the city and surrounding areas.

Giavasis urged council and city residents to band together and challenge state officials to stop fracking, one method that uses horizontal drilling to extract underground resources such as natural gas. He said the method uses harmful chemicals, posing a threat to residents’ drinking water.

“This is probably the single most threat in our area, in our generation, and if left unchecked, who’s going to pay the consequences?” Giavasis said.

The oil and gas industry uses fracking “to enhance subsurface fracture systems to allow oil or natural gas to move more freely from the rock pores to production wells that bring the oil or gas to the surface,” according to the EPA.

Council members asked questions of Giavasis, who admitted he’s no scientist nor engineer, but a concerned and educated citizen giving "his own independent opinion.”

“We have a small window here,” he said. “The gas and oil companies are coming home to roost.”

Giavasis said the EPA is conducting a study about the health risks associated with fracking, and it’s slated to wrap up by 2013. He said the state needs to assess that study when it’s done and then put regulations in place to protect residents.

Councilman Jeff Davies agreed.

“It has to be studied before you bring it into a populated area like this because the outcome could be devastating,” he said.

Council also:

• Discussed a refuse agreement that would raise residents’ trash bills $1, bringing them to $13.17.
• Discussed the purchase of their new Dell laptops, which President Jon Snyder said will cost about $5,500 and .