Ohio Department of Natural Resources
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 parks and rec to get millions in federal grants
The National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund is granting more than $10 million for local parks and recreation areas. Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office announced the grant funding, which is part of legislation passed in June 2020 to make investments to national parks and public lands infrastructure. The biggest of the 18 […]
Scrap tires and alcoholic bingo: The Ohio budget’s most obscure items
The new state budget allocates billions of dollars to necessary public services, but you have to flip to page 1,326 to find the part about buying to-go cocktails. Tucked between groundbreaking investments in broadband internet and children’s services, this provision lets Ohioans purchase drinks for “off-premises consumption,” so long as the drink is not any […]
How Ohio has responded to COVID-19: Part Two
The first big decision had been made. The popular Arnold Sports Festival, which brought tens of millions of dollars in economic activity to central Ohio, would be held in limited capacity to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The date was March 5. There had not yet been a positive test of the virus […]
COVID-19 in Appalachia: Communities coming together while staying apart
Note: This is the final story in a multi-part series detailing the effects of COVID-19 on Appalachian Ohio and how local residents, businesses and health professionals are responding to best serve their region. You can read earlier parts here: on business; on health and testing; and on telemedicine. Scott Hagan makes his living on the […]
Methane pollution poses serious risks to our health
As the oil and gas industry expands rapidly in Ohio, so does the risk of methane pollution. Methane is the primary component of natural gas and is emitted at all stages of the oil and gas supply chain. The climate warming impact of methane over a 20-year period is estimated to be at least 86 […]
Ohio timber sales net $1.5 million for school districts, local gov’ts
It’s a simple transaction: Ohio trees get cut down, the timber is sold and much of the proceeds benefit the local schools. That is the purpose of Trees to Textbooks, a program in its 22nd year that has directed millions of dollars back to governments throughout Ohio. This year’s haul featured just over $1.5 million […]
Latest ODNR gun range project to cost $9 million in upgrades
State cost tops $2.2 million toward more shooting positions, environmental work The state is spending more than $2.2 million to renovate and upgrade a shooting range in Delaware County, a project Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials say will attract outdoor enthusiasts from around Central Ohio. The Delaware Shooting Range is among 40 ranges managed […]
Improvements coming to Ohio’s state parks in 2020
Better customer service, improved signage and more frequent naturalist programming. Those are among the numerous suggestions on how to reform Ohio’s state parks system. These ideas were developed by a task force of nature experts and educators. They spent the summer of 2019 traveling to many of the 75 state parks to evaluate them for […]