Charting future of US energy development
Natural gas brings a brighter future to Monroe County
In a typical year, the race for the White House would dominate the nightly news and command a majority of ink on the front page of the newspaper. Unfortunately, as we are all too painfully aware, 2020 has been anything but a typical year.
COVID-19 often has led the news cycle over the contest between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Yet the two stories are inextricably linked as, given the pandemic's ongoing impact on our nation, Tuesday's election took on even more significance.
The winner must chart a course forward that will enable Americans to recover and prosper while also addressing other pressing issues, such as police reform and the environment. However, when it comes to the latter, we must carefully consider the broader impact of proposed climate action initiatives. In short, we need smart, commonsense policies that are economically sound and environmentally responsible.
Fortunately, the leading solution to address climate action involves developing natural gas, an energy resource that has become increasingly important not only to the nation but to Monroe County's future in particular.
New techniques in hydraulic fracturing enabled the United States to undergo a remarkable transformation in the past few decades from a nation dependent on foreign powers for our energy needs to a global energy superpower. This affordable and reliable energy resource is also playing a key role in our energy transition as utilities turn away from coal and embrace natural gas-derived clean technology, resulting in a 28% drop in carbon emissions between 2005 and 2017, according to EIA data.
Ohio is far from a minor player in this energy revolution as the state's natural gas production has increased by an astounding 1,000%. Natural gas is used by nearly 7 of 10 households with lower prices saving Ohio consumers billions over the years. For families that means thousands of dollars in annual savings. For Ohio's workforce, it means over 200,000 union and good-paying jobs in the state that are supported by the natural gas industry.
Natural gas development has laid a foundation upon which Monroe County, home to 332 active gas wells and almost a quarter of all natural gas production in the state, continues to grow. It has opened up more investment opportunities for future infrastructure projects critical to Monroe County residents' quality of life, such as desperately needed sewer treatment facilities, roadway improvements, broadband internet and new county services. For our schools, it means millions of dollars being invested to improve facilities and offer new trade programs to equip students with the skills to secure well-paying jobs.
A major economic development project is now poised to kick off at the Long Ridge Energy Terminal with a $20 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to build and expand infrastructure key to the success of the proposed NGL facility in Monroe County. The project broke ground last year at the site of the former Ormet Aluminum Plant, whose closure in 2013 deeply impacted our county.
Without question, we have seen our fair share of economic woes that only a decade ago plagued our county: high unemployment, low land values and meager sales taxes collected. But natural gas development here and throughout the state softened the blow of Ormet shuttering its doors after 50 years.
Fast forward and our 2019 taxable and public utility valuations have skyrocketed to $1.3 billion and $755 million, respectively. As a result of increased valuations and development, real estate tax collection also experienced an upward trajectory from $13.5 million to $55.6 million. In total, Monroe County has collected over $125 million dollars in real estate taxes over the past three years, representing the largest collections in the county's history.
During that same period, Switzerland of Ohio Local School District received over $89 million of that total.
Ohio's economy, and in particular southeastern Ohio's, cannot afford to lose the economic benefits of natural gas. Common-sense policies need to be brought to the table to ensure that the resources below our feet continue to be extracted safely and responsibly. More importantly, Ohio should not merely support the extraction of natural gas; it should embrace it and use it to its financial advantage to secure the long-term financial health of the state for all of its taxpayers.
Taylor G. Abbott is treasurer of Monroe County.