Carroll County Residents Dish on Fracking and the Election

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Carrollton is the county seat of Carroll County, a largely rural county in eastern Ohio that is home to three good-size recreational lakes, popular among outdoors enthusiasts and possibly the epicenter of Ohio’s shale-drilling-created oil-and-gas boom.

The county has nine active shale wells and 28 more that have been drilled but aren’t yet producing. Eight are being drilled, and permits have been issued for 59 additional wells. Thirty-five percent of all the Ohio shale wells drilled or permitted are here.

The trucks driving on Main Street are hauling supplies and materials to and from the drilling sites — sites that cost energy companies millions of dollars to lease from property owners, including farmers, and that are spurring the hiring of workers from throughout the hills of eastern Ohio.

The “fracking” boom is driving economic activity in Carroll County, where voters narrowly chose U.S. Sen. John McCain over Obama in 2008, but it’s not driving the political discourse as voters consider Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

The article goes on later:

“I think the president is anti-fossil fuels,” said Clarence Crum, 56, of Malvern, northwest of Carrollton, who added that he’s “hopeful” that Romney would support reducing regulations. “If (Obama) could control fracking, I think he’d shut it down.”

Jim Myers, 60, owner of Myers Tin Shop on Main Street and a likely Romney supporter, added in a separate interview: “To a degree, yes, I’m concerned about it, because of what the current administration’s EPA has done with coal.”

The Obama campaign often points to the president’s more than $5 billion in support for “clean” coal technology and to upticks in coal-mining jobs when the GOP attacks him for the loss of coal plants closed by utility companies that blame costly environmental rules.

It could be a tough perception for Obama to shake in places such as Carroll County, long a coal and steel community. But in cases in which people have environmental concerns related to drilling for natural gas, Obama’s links to stronger standards can help him.

“I think he leans more toward the environment,” said Cheryl Garner, 50, who owns Bud’s Farm Toys on Main Street with her husband, Larry. She said the store has seen a modest increase in business from drilling-site workers buying toys for their children.

“I know (Obama) understands we need jobs, and I think he wants to meet both concerns,” she said. “This is primarily a recreation community, and the environment is important. Anyone with any sense knows if you lose your natural resources, you’re in trouble.”

Read the entire article by clicking here.

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