Oil well dispute: Southfield drilling debate draws 1,000

 

State officials in charge of mineral rights across Michigan said they expected opposing sides loaded for bear in Southfield at a hearing Wednesday night about whether a church may drill for oil.

That’s just what they got.

With the whoops and applause of one side battling a din of boos to a draw, Mayor Ken Siver — an adamant foe of the drilling proposal by megachurch Word of Faith International Christian Center — called for calm in the audience of about 1,000 at Southfield High School.

“I’m going to ask all of you — no cheering, no booing, no clapping, so that we can have a cordial discussion.

“We are uptown. This is not some other place that carries on,” Siver said.

Siver was joined in opposition to the plan by a former Southfield mayor, U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, who said that Word of Faith’s founder Keith Butler “is a personal friend of mine” — before going on to voice “serious concerns” about the project.

“What is the protection from contamination of the water? We’ve been talking a lot about Flint, and we’re not going to tolerate that here,” she said, referring to lead contamination in Flint’s water that some MDEQ officials are accused of overlooking.

After a half-hour presentation by mineral-rights managers of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, including slides showing how oil wells are designed to avoid polluting groundwater, state Rep. Jeremy Moss told the audience he felt MDEQ appeared to side with the oil drillers.

“Instead of focusing on maximum oil production, we should be focusing on maximum people protection,” Moss said.

The Southfield City Council has passed a six-month moratorium on oil drilling, and added two extensions. Yet, state officials questioned whether the city could continue to block petroleum exploration.

MDEQ official Hal Fitch — chief of the oil, gas and mineral division — told the crowd:

“If the applicant submits all the necessary information and complies with all the regulations, we do have an obligation to grant the permit.”

City residents and members of environmental groups had passed the word to attend, many wearing shirts that said “Don’t Drill Southfield” as they queued up for three-minute chances to vent at the microphone.

As well, parishioners from Word of Faith International Christian Center — whose congregation is 14,000 strong — had been exhorted by pastors to show up and speak out.

When church member Stephanie Jones stood up to speak to the state panel, other members whooped their support.

“Word of Faith is within the guidelines of DEQ. You must abide by your own rules,” Jones declared.

But boos rose to drown out applause until one person shouted, “We don’t want negativity!” only to have another call out: “We don’t want oil, either!”

Many speakers were sharply critical not only of the church’s motives — some citing biblical references to greed, including “30 pieces of silver” — but also critical of MDEQ.

Many invoked the recent notoriety of the state agency’s oversight of Flint’s lead-contaminated water.

“I have no trust in MDEQ,” said Southfield resident and political activist Stephanie English.

Word of Faith member Patrice Wyatt, a Southfield resident, said she had spoken to Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash — who stood against a wall of the auditorium — and said that “there are many wells (in Oakland County) already operating.”

The MDEQ gave no timetable for when it would decide on whether to approve the drilling permit.

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