Columbiana County Gets Utica Shale Academy
Monday, January 27, 2014
Columbiana County is establishing an oil and gas-related charter school, in Salineville, Ohio, according to the Herald-Star.
The Southern Local Board of Education approved a preliminary agreement with Jefferson County Educational Service Center to move forward with a school geared toward giving students an education that prepares them for the oil and gas industry.
The name? According to Columbus Business First, Utica Shale Academy of Ohio.
Opening the school
If the school is to open by September, it’ll need to be finished by the end of February, John Wilson, superintendent of Southern Local schools told the Herald-Star.
The school could be a first. Rayola Dewar, of the American Petroleum Institute, told Columbus Business First that “she’s never heard of a specific school training at the high-school level.”
» Via: The Herald-Star› Community school to focus on the oil, gas industries
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Shale FAQ
What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
Is it safe?
What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
Will my water catch on fire?
Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.