AthensNews
...In a news release, Mandel has also lambasted unnamed "fringe extremists" who have spoken out against the lease auction – which is now on hold pending a more detailed study of the forest impacts from horizontal drilling for oil and gas with hydraulic fracturing....
....In early September, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced that it planned to auction leasing rights to nearly 21,000 acres of national forest land in Ohio, Louisiana and Mississippi. This included more than 3,300 acres in the Wayne in southeast Ohio, much of the acreage in Athens County.
Officials from the city of Athens, Athens County and Ohio University all sent letters expressing concern about the plan, based on their worries that use of the horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing drilling method (popularly known as "fracking") in the Wayne posed the threat of contaminating the Hocking River, which provides much of the county's water supply....
Josh Mandel's views about drilling in our forests and our public lands might be influenced by the large amount of money his campaign has received from those associated with certain industries that would be involved in fracking. According to Open Secrets, the Mandel campaign has received campaign funds from industries like ----oil and gas ($72,000), mining ($85,332), and chemical and related manufacturing ($91,070).
Why is Josh Mandel willing to sacrifice our lives and water? Does he really care about us, or just his contributors? Do you think that Josh Mandel would allow fracking on his property or near his home?
We cannot risk the lives of our families and our environment just so some wealthy corporations make more profits.