Shelby Township Board passes oil/gas drilling moratorium, outlines procedures

Citing conclusive evidence of damages and an ability to exercise “police powers,” the Shelby Township Board of Trustees passed a moratorium on oil/gas drilling in all non-industrial portions of the Township with a unanimous vote Aug. 19.

The measure comes as an oil/gas exploration operation reaches its “finishing” phase in a residential neighborhood near 25 Mile and Dequindre roads. The project operated 24 hours per day for seven days per week for more than three weeks after the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality granted a permit to West Bay Exploration.

“First, I would like to thank the many residents who contacted me and my office over the past month voicing concerns, offering suggestions and providing feedback to me and other officials within the Township,” Supervisor Rick Stathakis said. “Your voice in this matter has been the driving force for all of the initiatives we have undertaken to ensure this situation is managed in the best way as afforded by law.”

Unlike some moratoriums enacted by other local governments around the state, Shelby Township Attorney Rob Huth said the new Shelby Township moratorium, which Stathakis personally shared with Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel and all other township supervisors in the county, is unique and enforceable because of the evidence of damages inflicted on the property and residents near the 25 Mile and Dequindre roads operation.

“The only shot this community has to get its arms around this is to pass a moratorium exercising our police powers,” Huth said. “We now have evidence that what the state has enacted does not work. We saw it. Other communities have passed moratoriums that are going to fail because they have not had an opportunity to see how it works.”

Huth’s announcement of the Township’s new ability to restrict oil and gas drilling drew loud applause and cheers from a packed board room at the beginning of the Board of Trustees meeting in which the moratorium was a late addition to the agenda.

Along with the moratorium, Stathakis outlined other aspects adopted by the Board to better protect the community and create awareness as well as dispel misinformation surrounding the 25 Mile and Dequindre roads oil/gas exploration as well as fears of future drilling operations within the community.

Currently those steps include biweekly information requests between the Supervisor’s Office and the MDEQ to ensure all residents know if a new oil/gas operation is being considered within the Township, all information concerning potential oil/gas exploration projects will be posted on www.shelbytwp.org and shared via social and traditional medias, the township attorney is working closely with Jim Olson, a renowned environmental attorney specializing in municipalities’ needs, to form the best possible tools for the Township to fight future oil/gas operations that do not meet with the Township’s zoning ordinances, support for efforts to change the state law to protect residents from future oil/gas exploration, and an emergency response policy for any public safety threats associated with the oil/gas operations in the Township.

“I’ve had residents tell me that the horses are already out of the barn in terms of the damage caused by oil and gas exploration,” Stathakis said. “Of course the horses are out of the barn. State law took our barn doors right off the hinges.

“But we’re not going to let that stop us from finding new and better ways to offer our community any and all protections legally available to us. This issue is far from over, and the Board is fully committed to this issue as it is in all matters of keeping Shelby Township a safe and vibrant community to live, work and raise a family.”