T-L Photo/JENNIFER COMPSTON-STROUGH Larry Cain, from left, joins Harrison County Executive Director of Community and Economic Development Nick Homrighausen and Monroe County Commissioner Mick Schumacher on a panel to discuss the Industry Through the Eyes of the Community during the Ohio Oil and Gas Association annual meeting last week in Columbus. At right is moderator Tina Rush, local government affairs representative for MPLX, a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Eastern Ohio’s major role in the energy sector was highlighted last week during the Ohio Oil and Gas Association’s annual meeting.

The three-day event included workshops, a trade show, receptions, an awards ceremony, panel discussions and a keynote address by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. But a panel discussion Thursday morning, titled Industry Through the Eyes of the Community, brought the experiences of local residents to the fore.

Landowner Larry Cain represented Belmont County, whiile Monroe County Commissioner Mick Schumacher and Nick Homrighausen, executive director of community and economic development for Harrison County, also served as panelists. The three men discussed a variety of ways oil and gas development have impacted the local region.

One observation they all shared is that area well pads and associated operations are all “so clean.”

Cain, a third-generation dairy farmer who works in partnership with his son on the Cain Family Farm, described the land use that is possible despite having two well pads and 11 horizontal wells on their farm. He said the pads — and even their associated pipelines — are far less intrusive than he had expected.

“We are able to farm right up to the edge of the pad,” he told the convention attendees.

He compared the drilling, fracking and production from the wells to past coal mines that operated in the area for many decades.

“Coal mining was way more environmentally damaging, “ he recalled. “We don’t have our cattle dying. We don’t have erosion issues.”

He also spoke of allowing people to tour the pad sites.

“The first thing we hear is how clean it is,” he added. “People who do not approve go away with a different picture” of the industry.

Cain also pointed to the changes — some readily apparent and others a bit harder to see — that have resulted from gas and oil development in Belmont County. He cited improvements to family farms, purchases of tractors and other new vehicles, construction of new buildings, tractors and home remodeling as some examples. He also pointed out that many people who leasd their mineral rights are now better able to invest in an education for their children or grandchildren and to pay down their debt.

He said his own family had been determined to maintain its dairy farm even before area residents began leasing their land to oil and gas producers, making new investments possible.

“I see a much brighter future now,” he added.

Also looking toward the future, Homrighausen said the industry needs to find more unique ways to get its message out.

“We’re being attacked every day as an industry,” he said, adding that companies and the OOGA should dedicate a portion of their budgets to “dictating the message … before it is dictated to us.”

Schumacher talked about the misconceptions people have regarding gas and oil drilling and production. He recalled a trip he made to Athens to attend a meeting regarding tourism. During that event, he said, he was told that Monroe County couldn’t have tourism because of the presence of the oil and gas industry.

“We agreed to disagree,” he said of his conversation with the official who held that opinion.

He then suggested that gas and oil-producing counties offer well pad tours as part of their tourism initiatives.

Another key for the industry’s success, the panelists agreed, is transparency. All three said producers and other industry representatives need to be open and honest with people in the communities where they operate. That, they said, will build trust and ensure the public remains welcoming and supportive.

“Keep up the momentum, “ Schumacher said.