Drilling to install broadband halted temporarily

by Laura Bednar

Aug. 20 special township trustees meeting

Sagamore Hills trustees passed a 90-day moratorium on horizontal drilling and trenchless utility installation in township rights-of-way and highways.

Contractors have been drilling in Sagamore subdivisions – Eaton Estates, Greenwood Parkway, Heartridge – and along Holzhauer Road to install broadband fiber-optic line.

Trustee David DePasquale said officials first heard resident complaints about drilling last spring, when contractors hit underground invisible dog fences, ruined grass or disrupted irrigation systems.

After the June home explosions in Twinsburg caused by a fiber-optic drilling crew hitting a gas line, there has been a heightened awareness and nervousness among resident callers, according to DePasquale.

3D Communications is the prime contractor for Kinetic by Windstream fiber-optic installation in the township, according to DePasquale, but he said the company hires subcontractors to perform work.

Trustees sent a letter to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on July 13 urging the organization to take “affirmative regulatory action to require the use of ground-penetrating radar technology before and during all directional boring operations in the state.”

GPR systems use radio-wave pulses to produce subsurface imaging, according to the letter, and operators can verify clearances and detect utilities, anomalies and soil conditions before boring. Other requests to the PUCO included evaluating safety standards, considering whether enhanced inspection or verification should be implemented before boring and providing guidance to local governments about actions they can take to protect residents during directional drilling projects.

Trustee Paul Schweikert said state officials later said PUCO and the Ohio Department of Commerce have no authority over broadband installation. He said trustees asked for help from Summit County Council, which suggested the Summit County Engineer set criteria for contractors drilling for broadband installation.

Ohio Revised Code permits townships to require any person to obtain a permit before excavating in a township right-of-way or highway. Companies were drilling in rights-of-way without permits, and the moratorium states that activity has been stopped in the township.

DePasquale said Sagamore Hills police will tell contractors to stop work in rights-of-way if they see them drilling during the moratorium. The moratorium “does not apply to excavation or boring necessary to repair an existing utility line during a genuine public health or safety emergency” or for “routine maintenance or repair of existing utility infrastructure.”

Trustee John Zaccardelli said the moratorium is not a zoning issue; it is protecting township roads.

DePasquale said the moratorium gives trustees time to “get the right mechanisms in place” for drilling before work resumes. These include creating a permitting standard, including utility location verification, hydro-excavation and inspection requirements.