The Drilling

Since 1989, northern Michigan has been the scene of the most intensive natural gas development in the country. More than 5,200 wells have been drilled into the Antrim Shale geological formation, most of them in Antrim, Crawford, Oscoda, and Montmorency counties.

The drilling has centered on the watersheds of the lower peninsula's cleanest and wildest rivers the AuSable, the Pigeon, the Black, the Jordan, the Manistee, the Betsie, and the Boardman. This massive industrial development in the heart of Michigan"s North Woods is threatening waterways with sedimentation, fragmenting the surrounding forest, and changing the very character of the land.

Antrim wells are tied together by an elaborate infrastructure of wells, pipelines, compression stations, and access roads that now sprawl over 500,000 acres. These installations penetrate vast stretches of public forest once reachable only by foot.

Narrow two tracks, once peacefully domed with hardwood canopies, have been widened for the busy traffic of drilling rigs and service trucks. The continuous rumbling of gas compression plants spreads for miles through formerly tranquil valleys.

Lack of enforcement
This intensive development, a result of antiquated rules, exemptions from local ordinances, and generous federal subsidies, has reaped immense profits for the oil and gas industry at the expense of public lands.

In 1992, a Department of Natural Resources task force strongly recommended the establishment of regional land use planning to reduce environmental damage from oil and gas development, citing numerous harmful effects from the current practices. Neither the DNR nor the Department of Environmental Quality has responded to the task force findings. There also have been repeated efforts by residents in the development zones to strengthen the state's oversight of the oil and gas industry, but regulators have paid little attention.

Recent budget cutbacks have crippled the agency charged with overseeing oil and gas development. In the past decade, the DEQ,s Geological Survey Division has lost 65 employees, a reduction of more than half the staff. The cutbacks have seriously undermined the agency's oversight program, and compromised the state's ability to enforce the law. In 1994, for example, field staff were able to meet only 18% of their goal for well inspections.

Even as the field inspection program fell apart, the GSD approved applications for new well drilling at a record pace.

Citizen Action
The inability, or unwillingness, of conservation officials to act means that citizens must lead. There are precedents for this in Michigan. In the early 1970s, courageous public advocates fought a successful battle over oil development in the Pigeon River State Forest because they could not bear to stand aside and watch the state shirk its responsibility. Together with former DNR employees, the citizens filed suit against the oil industry to protect one of the few remaining wilderness areas in the state. In a sweeping decision, the Michigan Supreme Court prevented exploratory wells from being drilled in parts of the Pigeon River area because they would cause "unquantifiable damage".. After the court ruling Joseph Sax, a law professor at the University of Michigan and author of the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, reflected on the fight:

"Lawsuits over environmental issues are always a matter of last resort. They are a kind of desperation strategy. When those who are supposed to administer the law ~ in this case, the DNR and the Natural Resources Commission do not do the job that they ought to do, when other institutions in the society, like the press, the Governor's office, or citizens, expressions of opinion, however strong and well meaning, are unable to bring about much-needed change, then with great reluctance we as citizens have no choice but to go to court".

A more recent case study begins in 1992. At the height of the Antrim gas drilling frenzy, three citizens, groups ~ the Michigan Environmental Trust Limited, Trout Unlimited, and Anglers of the AuSable ~ found that in order to protect the forests and trout streams in the development zones, they too had to resort to a lawsuit. After a long legal battle that cost the conservation groups more than $100,000, the court ruled that oil and gas developers must bore underneath streams when laying pipelines. The court also decided to reach a compromise for the litigants, and widen the spacing between wells from 40 acres to a minimum of 80 acres.

The Pigeon River and METL lawsuits achieved needed policy changes that have resulted in a lasting benefit for state resources. Neither initiative was led by radicals who were anti-industry or anti-development. These were ordinary people who cared about land.

Today, one is hard-pressed to find anyone outside of the oil and gas industry who is not thankful for the dedicated effort of those concerned citizens. Yet glaringly missing from both cases was support from the very agency, the DNR, charged by law to "protect and conserve the resources."

Concern for the Jordan
The lines now are being drawn for what could be the next resource battle: natural gas development in the Jordan River Valley. A unique stretch of 22,000 acres of forested hills surrounding a river as close to its natural state as any in lower Michigan, the Jordan River Valley has been protected since 1975 from oil and gas development under a management plan drawn up by the DNR.

Now the Engler Administration has allowed the valley, subsurface minerals to be put on the auction block. The Department of Environmental Quality recently recommended approval for two natural gas wells in the protected area. The thought of drilling in the Jordan River Valley, revered by hunters, fishermen, and nature lovers across the state, set loose a torrent of public resistance.

The Michigan Energy Reform Coalition, a statewide alliance of ten citizens groups and three townships seeking to reduce environmental damage from oil and gas development, mounted a campaign to prevent drilling in the Jordan River Valley. MERC succeeded in convincing Terra Energy, the state's largest gas producer, to voluntarily withdraw its permits.

Terra's action is a welcome sign that the oil and gas industry is becoming more aware of public opinion. Still, no energy company has made a commitment to abstain from drilling in the Jordan River Valley.

The move to open the Jordan River Valley is emblematic of a disregard within state government of the long-term value of healthy public lands. If state officials are so casual and cavalier about one of Michigan's jewels, doesn't that tell us how they are treating the rest of our public lands?

Hydrocarbon Development Plans Needed
MERC hopes to protect Michigan's rivers, lakes and streams by requiring hydrocarbon development plans, based on the Pigeon River model, before new wells are drilled in all sensitive watersheds. Such plans would be reviewed and approved by a balanced committee of citizens, industry representatives, local governments, and DNR and DEQ staff responsible for safeguarding forests, land, wildlife, fisheries, and water. The hydrocarbon development plan is based on the premise that oil and gas production can exist in sensitive watersheds without harming the resource or the character of the area, if it is done carefully. The state has allowed Michigan''s North Woods to be riddled with wells and fragmented by roads and pipelines, without proper planning or public participation. Reviving the hydrocarbon development plan is a chance to bring a badly needed balance to oil and gas development.

The Michigan Energy Reform Coalition is a project of the Michigan Land Use Institute, where Hans Voss is the North Woods Campaign Coordinator. To learn more about MERC, call 616-882-0063, write P.O. Box 228, Benzonia, MI 49616, or e-mail to mlui@traverse.com.

Return to the Index of Synapse 35, Spring Equinox 1996