The country's Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar on Tuesday made stops in Ohio to support local businesses that are part of the nation's growing energy economy.
Salazar first stopped at MAC Liquid Tank Trailer in Kent. The facility, which employs more than 100 people, manufactures tanks and trailers used in the exploration of natural gas and oil, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Interior. Nearly 100 people work there, and another 100 are expected to be added by the end of this year, the release states.
"These kind of trailers that will contain the fracking water that goes out into the well field, there are going to be lots of those needed all over the country," Salazar said.
Founder Michael Conny and other company officials took Salazar on the brief tour and filled him in on the company's growth.
"We started back here five months ago with four people who basically transferred here and currently we employ 100 up here at the new facility in Kent and want to hire 100 more people this year," said company president Jim Mairoana.
The secretary said there is a direct correlation between the development of natural gas and job creation in the U.S., including in northeast Ohio, and he wants to make sure the state goes about it safely.
"When it comes to energy, we need to take an all-of-the-above approach to producing more energy at home in ways that are cleaner, cheaper and create jobs for Americans,” Salazar said in the release. "That means safely and responsibly developing our abundant natural gas resources, as well as building capacity for clean energy technologies, like wind and solar. Ohio is playing a major role in growing a strong energy economy for America, where jobs from manufacturing to construction are created and supported by our nation’s growing energy portfolio."
Salazar said in the press release that MAC Liquid Tank Trailer is adding five to 10 jobs per week, and that it's a strong testament for the role natural gas is playing in the economy.
"Natural gas could support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade, so we must ensure that this resource continues to be developed safely and responsibly," he stated in the release.
Salazar was also set to visit Lincoln Electric's Automation Division in Cleveland. That company makes welding-related products that support the wind industry and other energy sectors. Lastly was a stop at the City Club of Cleveland where he was to outline a rule the Interior is expected to propose in the coming weeks regarding hydraulic fracturing.
The draft rule would contain three components: public disclosure of the chemicals used during operations with appropriate considerations for trade secret claims; confirmation of well bore integrity; and water management programs for fluids that flow back to the surface, the release states. A proposed rule will be formally released to the public as part of a formal comment period, during which feedback from industry, state, local and tribal governments, individual citizens and all other interested parties will be solicited.
“If we are going to be successful, the public needs to have confidence that fracking operations are being conducted safely, and that drinking water supplies are protected," Salazar said in the release. "A disclosure rule need not be burdensome. It need not be complicated. But it has to preserve the public’s trust in an industry that is critical to our long-term energy security.”
