Mayor Pro Tem: Oil, Gas Drilling in Rochester Could Be Inevitable

Whether or not Rochester decides to grant oil and gas leasing rights to Traverse City-based Jordan Development, drilling is likely to happen within the city limits, according to Rochester Mayor Pro Tem Jeffrey Cuthbertson.

"There's reasonably a high likelihood that this will happen whether or not the city is engaged in the discussion," Cuthbertson said Monday during a League of Women Voters forum for Rochester City Council candidates. 

The reason this could happen, he said, is if landowners grant leasing rights for their personal property, even if the city opts to keep its own property off-limits.

"There will very likely be drilling whether (or not) the City of Rochester leases its lands," he said. 

Cuthbertson said he hasn't yet taken a position on the drilling and is awaiting an opinion from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

"They know the science and are in a position to make that opinion known," he said. "A lot of other communities have embraced it to the extent it is going to go in in the private sector with private landowners, whether or not the city or any other city is involved." 

Jordan Development is seeking leasing rights to horizontally drill deep beneath the earth, though no surface digging would take place within city limits. The company has maintained the horizontal drilling practice is different from the controversial hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" methods used in other areas.

"I'm withholding opinion until I understand the technical aspects of it," Mayor Stuart Bikson said. "They say they're not doing fracking, but I need to understand it's not fracking." 

Mary Howarth, who moderated the forum, asked the candidates their opinion on the city leasing gas and oil rights, and each candidate said they would like to see more information before taking a position.

The Rochester City Council will hold a public forum at its Sept. 23 meeting, where residents can speak against or in favor of the city leasing its oil and gas rights.