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Seismic testing winds way through county
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - September 19, 2012)
Seismic testing winds way through county
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
There was a strange site in Geauga County last week.
What looked like long, orange extension cords were stretched for miles along Auburn Road as parades of trucks with 15-foot-diameter tires rolled through the area.
It was part of seismic testing performed by Nicholson Land Services of Tyler, Texas, to provide a geophysical map of what lies below the surface.
“It’s like a roadmap of what’s underground,” said Michael Martin, project manager for the company.
The work was sought by a clearinghouse of such information in Louisiana, Mr. Martin said. The company holds the largest seismic database in the country. Oil and gas companies are likely purchasers of such information.
The orange cords were fiber-optic cables, not electrical lines, making them safe for vehicles or pedestrians to pass over, he said.
Testing was done using plates that are vibrated for five to six seconds at a time, with each repeating the process about eight to 10 times. The succeeding picture drawn from the work is meant to show “interruptions” in underlying rock layers.
A picture may show fault lines that lie underground or deposits. Those brine deposits, Mr. Martin said, may be oil and gas, but that is for experts to ascertain.
The company covers about five to seven miles a day. In ideal situations, the seismic readings can reach as deep as 14,000 to 15,000 feet, he said. Typically, the readings are 4,000 to 6,000 feet below ground.
The company was contracted to take readings in Geauga and Trumbull counties. Mr. Martin said he was unsure whether the company needed to do more work in Geauga.
The company completed work through Bainbridge and Auburn townships previously, said Joseph Cattell, Geauga County’s chief deputy engineer. That work extended to Pennsylvania.
The company applied for permits through the county for overweight and overwidth trucks, even though the permits were not necessary, Mr. Cattell said. “I have to give them credit for notifying us anyway.”
The county has no authority to regulate such operations as the state legislature gave sole authority to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in 2004.
The company also dropped off notices at adjoining properties to inform them of the operations, Mr. Cattell said. Countless phone calls were received by his office as the work proceeded, some of which were not too pleasant.
“They wanted to know why I am giving permission to frack in Geauga,” he said. “They’re angry, but I’m not sure who they’re angry with.”
The company was above board with the county on the matter, Mr. Cattell said. “They were very easy to deal with as far as we were concerned.”
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