Shelby Township shares drilling concerns with community, Governor's Office

Following an “indefinite” halt to oil/gas exploration activities near 25 Mile and Dequindre roads, Shelby Township Supervisors Rick Stathakis welcomed residents and leaders from throughout metro Detroit to discuss the crisis and how future situations can be averted Aug. 28.

Stathakis coordinated a meeting with a handful of neighbors in the 25 Mile and Dequindre roads area as well as roughly 20 elected leaders throughout Macomb County and across metro Detroit to meet with Gov. Rick Snyder’s Deputy Legal Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor on Energy and the Environment Ms. Valerie Brader in Shelby Township.

“I was proud to facilitate an Aug. 28 meeting with our residents and Ms. Valerie Brader in Shelby Township to help expedite a total resolution to the oil/gas exploration crisis in one of our treasured residential neighborhoods,” Stathakis said. “Ms. Brader arranged this meeting with my office just nine days after I initially sent a letter to Gov. Snyder seeking a forum for our residents that were so deeply affected by this issue of oil/gas exploration in the heart of a residential neighborhood.

“At this meeting several residents near 25 Mile and Dequindre roads were able to give their issues names and faces as Ms. Brader and Gov. Snyder work to come to grips with this issue, and I have no doubt that the feedback from our residents will weigh heavily on this process.”

Stathakis said that, based on feedback from other local elected leaders on the issue of residential oil/gas exploration, he organized a second meeting with Brader to address the concerns local governments has over the lack of local control to help residents or power to provide oversight for oil/gas exploration, “in our own backyards.”

In addition to the verbal support shown at the meeting, many of the township supervisors affirmed that they would seek to adopt moratoriums similar to Shelby Township‘s and the mayors said they would pass resolutions affirming their governments’ support for Stathakis’ No Urban Residential Drilling initiative.

“Whether it is the newly legal fireworks or oil/gas exploration, state government needs to recognize the ability of local governments to represent its residents,” said Clinton Township Supervisor Robert Cannon, who voiced his support for Shelby Township.

“I was very pleased and emboldened at this meeting as leaders from Scio Township to Rochester Hills all agreed that more local oversight is needed for all oil/gas exploration, and, more importantly, that the state needs to allow local governments to enforce moratoriums and stop urban residential exploration,” Stathakis said.

Brader welcome the information from the residents and leaders and said it would be valuable as she and the Governor seek the best way to manage all the facets of what is a very complex situation.

“We need to balance a number of stakeholder issues at hand here,” Brader said. “But I am very glad to have been able to hear all of this firsthand from leaders and the residents.”

Stathakis said that he felt the true test of the meetings’ successes came in the form of support from all participants that he put together a second, similar meeting with members of the State Legislature.

“We need to provide more feedback on this issue to the Capital and have a second, similar meeting of local leaders, this time also with State Senators and State Representatives, so they can benefit from the same feedback and discussion that Ms. Brader experienced with our region’s Mayors and Supervisors,” Stathakis said.