State Representatives Dave Hall (R- Millersburg) and Sean O’Brien (D- Brookfield) announced a bipartisan hearing for Tuesday, January 17th at 10am to address recent seismic activity in Youngstown, Ohio. The hearing will take place at Youngstown State University and will include a panel of geologic, seismic and oil and gas industry experts.

Panelists include: Dr. Robert Chase, Chair/Professor for the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Marietta College; Dr. Jeffrey Dick, Professor of Geology at Youngstown State University; Tom Stewart, Executive Vice President of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association; and David Hill, President and Consulting Geologist of David R. Hill, Inc.

Representative Hall, Chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, has been asked by members of the House and Senate to chair the bipartisan hearing.

“It is critical that the people of Ohio, especially those in the greater-Youngstown community, receive accurate information about our state’s geological makeup and the geophysics of developing our natural resources” Hall said. “Representative O’Brien and I have asked several prominent experts to testify at this special hearing. Misinformation leads to misunderstanding and fear, so it is vital that we learn from specialists in these fields. By addressing this incident quickly and directly, we can ensure that Ohioans are informed and have a better understanding of this dynamic industry.”

Representative O’Brien serves the southeastern portion of Trumbull County, which is directly above the seismic activity’s epicenter.“My office has received significant amounts of constituent correspondence vocalizing public, environmental, and geological safety concerns in light of the most recent earthquake in the Mahoning Valley. This hearing provides myself, as well as our state leaders, the opportunity to publicly discuss fact-finding testimony surrounding the earthquake’s occurrence from leading experts in the field.”

The event will be held in the Chestnut Room of the Kilcawley Center, at Youngstown State University.

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