By JOHN BINDER
Slidell news bureau
MANDEVILLE – With the possibility of drilling for oil and gas through the controversial method known as “fracking,” in St. Tammany Parish comes questions as to how and if the project will be approved or denied.
The plan by Helis Oil & Gas Company, LLC, which recently applied with the Office of Conservation of the State of Louisiana, would establish rules and regulations as to how the oil and gas would be produced, according to La. Rep. Tim Burns (R-Man).
The approximate 13,000 foot depth of the drilling, which is proposed for the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Reservoir A in the Lacombe Bayou Field, close to the Intersection of Highway 1088 and I -12, will be through a major aquifer which provides water to most of the parish residents, according to Burns.
An actual permit for the creation of the project has not been filed yet, but a permit for the project to be heard in Baton Rouge has been. The project, if it were to come to fruition, would demand 960 acres of land which is owned by Edward Poitevent II, who sought out Helis Oil & Gas to pursue possible drilling on his land.
As far as the next stage of the project, questions are still unanswered, according to Councilwoman Maureen O’Brien of District 10.
“Currently, the zoning is residential and that is not a permitted use in that area,” said O’Brien. “The question that remains is can the state force us to accept that? Or do our ordinances in our Home Rule Charter enable us to say, ‘No, this is not permitted use and we’re not changing the zoning’? It’s not like we’re hurrying and rushing to change the zoning that is there. It’s been residential for years and years.”
O’Brien said that even if the Parish Council does not approve the zoning change of the land required for the project, the parish could see a lawsuit by Helis Oil & Gas Company coming their way.
Though it is not known as to whether the buck stops with the Parish Council or the state, a zoning change of the land would take a majority vote of eight council members. O’Brien said she does not know if there are eight council members at this point who would oppose the zoning change.
The prospect of fracking in St. Tammany Parish comes with overwhelming resistance from Lacombe, Abita Springs and Mandeville residents.
Don Dubuc, who lives in St. Tammany and has two wells himself, asked representatives with the Office of Conservation if parish residents have any say so when determining if drilling would occur in the area.
“We enforce the laws of the state,” said Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh. “Do people have a say? Of course they do. That’s why we have public hearings. We consider comments.”
Dubuc also asked if applications had ever been denied based on the outcry from public dissatisfaction with a plan. Welsh said applications have been denied in the past, but only based on “scientific information like incomplete applications.”
“The owner of the land surface and the mineral rights, the state law provides that they have a right to develop that,” said Engineering Director for Administrative Affairs Todd Keating. “If their mineral rights include natural oil and gas, then that landowner has the rights to market that.”
Another question raised by Dubuc pointed out who would be affected by a potential issue with water contamination and how quick that contamination would take to reach nearby residents.
“It would be the area closest to the well, said Division Director Gary Snellgrove. “Groundwater does move, but for it to move miles and miles and miles, sometimes takes a long, long time.”
The statement was met with even more questions as to what constitutes “miles and miles” for moving groundwater. O’Brien said she asked the representatives afterwards to define “long time” since the water is supposedly slow-moving. She said she was never given a definitive answer.
“No one would give me that answer and I asked it several times and they would not say days, weeks, months, years,” said O’Brien.
Kay Fallon, who worked in real estate for 35 years, brought up the issue of property value near the potential fracking site, citing studies which have shown that values decrease as much as 25 percent when drilling is nearby.
“I’ve been reading several articles, one was in the The Economist, and it cites a research paper written by the National Bureau of Economic Research that property values near fracking sites fall dramatically when those properties are dependent on groundwater wells,” said Fallon.
Councilman Jake Groby of District 7 is set to hold a public meeting regarding the plan for drilling using fracking sometime next month.