American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2018 - 161

ConventionCoverage: Ohio Oil & Gas Association
written in 2006 and updated in 2012, he
stated. After the U.S. Forest Service proposed another update, Chadsey said, a
number of environmental activists interpreted that as concession to their anti-development litigation.
"That is not the case; drilling is not
going to be banned in the Wayne National
Forest," he held. "Officials, particularly
the forest supervisor, will tell you we
need a more accurate forest plan that coordinates with the state of Ohio's actions
on its own acreage. A lot of this is about
restoring the hickory and oak parts of
the forest, but it is even more about cooperation."
Chadsey pointed to upcoming public
meetings about the plan and urged industry
allies to make sure they voiced their support for oil and gas activity. "Everybody
who disagrees with it will be there, claiming climate catastrophe if we drill one
more well in the Wayne," he predicted.
"We need to correct the record. That is
true even for those of you who not interested in working in the Wayne. We want
to hold the line, because if we lose any
traction there, we are going to have more
problems down the road."
During the panel discussion, Jimmy
Stewart, president of the Ohio Gas Association, noted that oil and gas opponents
often relied on emotional arguments. He
recalled one public hearing about a pipeline
project in which opponents arrived with
a uniformed Girl Scout troop. "They
asked how they could toast marshmallows
when a natural gas pipeline beneath would
kill them," Stewart recounted. "We are
really good at responding to emotional
arguments with engineering facts and figures, but it does not win over many in
the audience. Sometimes you have to respond with emotional arguments.
"Some might talk about how many
millions of dollars from this project are
going to benefit the school districts.
Maybe we can turn that around, make it
a little more emotional and ask why (activists) are against our kids, teachers and
school districts," he continued. "Another
tactic I use is to say they owe an apology
to our building trades-our licensed, skilled
trade operating engineers, plumbers and
pipefitters-to suggest they are too incompetent or too corrupt to build and
operate a pipeline."
Moreover, reported Jackie Stewart, director of Energy In Depth-Ohio, oil and
gas activity is a major reason why more
union laborers are working in Ohio than

Among those participating in OOGA's legislative forum are, from left, Representative
Ryan Smith, R-Bidwell; Representative Al Landis, R-Dover; Representative Andy
Thompson, R-Marietta, and House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville. A number
of state senators also participated in the forum, including Senate President pro tempore
Bob Peterson, R-Washington Court House.

any other state. Meanwhile, she indicated,
the anti-industry activists spearheading
resistance against oil and gas activity in
places such as the Wayne tend not to hail
from the area.
"They would like you to think they
are from Monroe County, but they are
not," she related. "Increasingly, the fringe
environmental activists are becoming
fewer in Ohio. As people learn the facts,
the more they are on board, which is
why we have support in Monroe County.
Landowners are saying they are willing
to fight for leasing of the subsurface minerals under the Wayne National Forest.
They also are willing to fight against
people coming into their community that
are not from there. I fully expect that
when the forestland review starts this
spring, a lot of folks in Southeast Ohio
will fight back."
An effort by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund to place
a constitutional amendment on Ohio
ballots that would elevate local authority
over state or federal dominion also was
discussed. During his breakout session,
Chadsey noted that CELDF had been
pushing local measures in Ohio with minimal success.
"Because of that track record, CELDF
is trying to make this a statewide issue,"
he related.
Rebecca Heimlich, central region campaign manager of external mobilization
for the American Petroleum Institute,
noted that those pushing the measure
must collect over 305,000 valid signatures

to get the measure on the ballot, and it is
not limited to local control of oil and
gas. It also would impact, for example,
firearms, agriculture and development.
So everyone from the Chamber of Commerce, to the building trades to OOGA
and the Ohio Farm Bureau are well aware
of that effort, she said.
Heimlich suggested that one of the
reasons Pennsylvania-based CELDF may
have had focused so much on Ohio is because of its relatively low hurdle to place
items on local ballots. However, she said,
the stated goals of the group's leader,
Thomas Linzey, extended far beyond
frustrating local oil and gas activity.
"He says his ultimate goal is to scrap
the U.S. Constitution and start over, giving
rights to ecosystems, getting rid of property
and corporate rights," Heimlich characterized. "I heard him speak and when
people asked how to get petition signatures,
he said they should pick any issue that
people were already upset about. They
have used voter rights, sewage/sludge,
farming, and oil and gas. Their red herrings
differ around the country."
r

Coming In May
The May issue provides an activity update of the red-hot SCOOP and
STACK plays, and previews secondhalf 2018 operational plans for both
large and small companies active in
those plays as well as off-the-radar
plays in the Mid-Continent region.
APRIL 2018 161

American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2018

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