fracking
Commission advances rules, leasing forms for drilling on Ohio’s state lands
Environmentalists demanded public input and oversight before oil and gas companies gain clearance to drill on public lands. The five-member oil and gas land management commission heard public comment Wednesday before approving a new standard lease form and rules. The process to lease public lands for oil and gas exploration has been exceptionally slow. Lawmakers […]
Ohio’s ‘Frackgate’ controversy predicted backlash to drilling under state parks
Barkcamp State Park is among the few places where visitors can experience Ohio’s forests as they existed before European settlement. Once the site of a historic logging camp, today it’s a destination for camping, fishing, and other outdoor recreation. It’s also a place that could see new pressure for oil and gas development after Ohio […]
Ohio ‘green’ natural gas bill motivated by ESG investing concerns, lawmaker says
The author of an Ohio amendment that would classify natural gas as “green energy” said he hopes the legislation can help companies meet ESG investing standards. ESG refers to environmental, social and governance practices. ESG investing generally limits financing choices to companies or funds that meet certain criteria for those categories. The practice has been […]
DeWine should veto drilling threat to state parks falsely labeled ‘green energy’
Ohioans love their state parks. I’ve been to seven this year. Had lots of company. The log of daily visitors is surging at the parks. Overnight stays jumped 26.5% from 2017 to 2021. Try booking a campsite or cabin in the summer — or fall. Everybody wants one. The lure of solitude and escape in […]
Why Ohio’s top oil and gas producing counties continue to lag in jobs
A decade after the start of Ohio’s shale gas boom, counties with the most oil and gas production continue to have higher-than-average unemployment rates. A review of state data shows that unemployment rates in Belmont, Carroll, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, and Noble Counties have exceeded the statewide average every year since 2010, casting doubt on […]
Alleging continual pollution, advocates ask U.S. EPA to take over Ohio injection well permitting
Appalachian Ohio is a primary dumping ground for natural gas fracking waste. Nearly half of it is coming from neighboring states. A battle is underway to try to strip the Ohio Department of Natural Resources from its hold on the permitting process for these injection wells. A coalition of environmental activists and community groups in […]
Ohio missed out on $1.2 billion plus in severance tax revenue
By Guillermo Bervejillo, Policy Matters Ohio The responsible use of Ohio’s natural resources is crucial to the well-being of its residents and to the long-term sustainability of its economic infrastructure. Currently, Ohio is 13th among states in terms of crude oil production and 6th in terms of natural gas. The Marcellus and Utica shale formations, which lie, in […]
Feds and states not taking radioactivity from fracking seriously, environmental group says
Fracking might be an economic boon to some landowners in depressed sections of Eastern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and much of West Virginia. But federal and state officials are doing little to protect citizens from the radiation hazards posed by the process, a new report says. For example, a solution containing substances such as Radium-226 in […]
Four big questions about the feds’ scrutiny of oil and gas leasing on public lands
In his first week in office, President Joe Biden paused new oil and gas leasing on federal lands as his administration reviewed fossil fuel development policy. Now that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has taken office, the administration is gearing up to begin that process. A forum comprising the energy industry, conservation groups, labor organizations and […]
In Ohio and elsewhere, Dems need better messaging on fracking, police, other issues
Tax the rich! Defund the police! Ban fracking! This is the sort of policy sloganeering voiced by factions within the Democratic Party during the recent presidential election campaign in Ohio and elsewhere. While all are based at least in part on worthy policy goals, post-election analysis suggests that President Trump and GOP strategists exploited that […]
Search for contractors continues Ohio’s orphan oil and gas plugging efforts
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is starting a new phase of a process to address idle and orphan oil and gas wells. As part of the Orphan Well Program, the state is looking for contractors to plug about 200 wells in the next year all over the state, with millions in legislature-approved funding ready […]
Ohio sets new quarterly records for oil and natural gas production
During the third quarter of 2019, Ohio’s horizontal shale wells produced more than 7.2 million barrels of oil and 674 billion cubic feet of natural gas, both new state records for quarterly oil and natural gas production since quarterly reporting began in 2013. The figures released in December by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources […]