NEWS RELEASE
Munroe Falls:
Mayor Larson is proud to inform the residents of Munroe Falls that his administration has made another successful step in the effort to stop the drilling for oil & gas in the community. Armed with conclusive data, including resident petitions and photographs of flooding at the drilling site on the Sonoco Company’s property, Law Director Jack Morrison, Jr. secured a “Stay Order” issued by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. This order, effective April 4, 2008, prevents any further action by Sonoco or the drilling company until ODNR can review the data and set a new hearing date. This process will take at least 90 days. “The flooding at the drilling site on the Sonoco property is of great concern because it is very close to the water wells that supply our drinking water” said Mayor Larson, “if our water is contaminated the state does not have a contingency plan to supply the homes and businesses that depend on this water source. This ‘Stay Order’ is a step in the right direction to get the drilling stopped completely.”
Flooding on the Sonoco property comes from the Cuyahoga River as it rises. Not only can run-off from the drilling site contaminate the ground that holds the drinking water, but it can also contaminate the river. This seems to be taking two steps backwards from the years of work spent trying to clean up the river.
Munroe Falls City Council agrees that gas & oil drilling should not be allowed in this community. On January 2, 2008 the Council passed Resolution #2008-04 requesting that Governor Ted Strickland place a moratorium on this drilling in Munroe Falls. They asked him to consider the river and the water table that this community thrives on. The Governor’s office has been in contact with Mayor Larson but the wheels of government run slowly.
