Salt Fork State Park is Ohio’s largest state park … and it is now at risk!
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From an Article by Julie Grant, The Allegheny Front, December 5, 2023
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Groups concerned about fracking for oil and gas in Ohio’s state lands filed a lawsuit last week, appealing a commission’s approval of seven nominations to drill under Salt Fork State Park and two wildlife areas, claiming it violated state law. The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission approved the nominations at a contentious meeting in November.
In the lawsuit, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, the groups Save Ohio Parks, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Buckeye Environmental Network and Ohio Environmental Council claim that the commission failed to properly consider the proposals.
State law requires the commission to consider nine factors when deciding whether to approve a nomination to drill under state lands. These include the impact of drilling on the environment, geology, current property uses and economics. “There are at least four criteria that there was no discussion during the meeting itself for each parcel,” said attorney Megan Hunter of EarthJustice, who represents the groups.
“The commission blatantly violated its own procedures and the law when it voted to open state public lands to the oil and gas industry,” said Nathan Johnson, senior attorney for land and water at the Ohio Environmental Council, in a written statement. “It failed to publicly consider potential harm fracking will have on our parks and wildlife areas and on the people who enjoy these beloved places. Ohioans deserve better,” he said.
The public comments issue ~ The groups also say the commission did not adequately consider comments by residents of Ohio or others who use the state lands.
“We do not feel that the owners of this land are being given proper consideration in deciding how it will be used. This rushed and chaotic process will not lead to an outcome that benefits Ohioans, nor the hunters and anglers of Salt Fork and Zepernick and Valley Run,” said Dustin Lindley of the Ohio chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.
One example of that “chaotic process” is the controversy around the public comments. Save Ohio Parks found nearly one hundred comments submitted to the commission by supposedly pro-fracking citizens, who when contacted said they did not knowingly send them. News outlets found an additional 38 disputed public comments.
“The commission disregarded all of this evidence and voted to frack our beloved parks and wildlife areas anyway,” said Cathy Cowan Becker of Save Ohio Parks, noting that citizens were not allowed to speak at commission meetings.
The Ohio Attorney General’s office has said it is investigating the questionable public comments.
What’s next? The commission has until late December to respond to the lawsuit in court.
In a lawsuit filed last spring, environmental groups claim the law expediting oil and gas leases under state lands, itself, was unconstitutionally approved by the state legislature last December. That case is also being considered by the Franklin County court.
Meanwhile, leases in Salt Fork and the wildlife areas are expected to go out for bid in January.
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With stroke of his pen, Gov. Mike DeWine defines natural gas as green energy ~ By Jake Zuckerman, Cleveland dot Com, January 6, 2023
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation that broadly expands the ability to drill for oil and gas in state parks and also legally redefines natural gas as a source of “green energy.” A 2011 state law gave state agencies the authority, if they choose, to lease out state lands for oil and gas exploration and production. The bill signed by DeWine would change that language to say a state agency “shall” accept a lease that meets certain conditions, instead of saying it “may” do so. In other words, it forces an agency to grant the lease application from oil and gas drillers.
The term green energy typically refers to energy derived from the sun and wind, not fossil fuels. Natural gas is a fossil fuel released by digging into the earth that acts as a greenhouse gas via leakage during transport and when it’s combusted. Its main component is methane, a potent heat-trapping gas.
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PA Permit Violation Issued to EQT PROD CO in Amwell Township, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 12/07/2023 to EQT PROD CO in Amwell Township, Washington county. 78a65(e) – SITE RESTORATION – Post drilling restoration reports – Operator failed to submit a restoration report to the Department within 60 calendar days after post drilling restoration under 25 Pa. Code § 78a.65 (a)(1).
Incident Date/Time: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling
PA Permit Violation Issued to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Amwell Township, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 12/07/2023 to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Amwell Township, Washington county. 78a65(e) – SITE RESTORATION – Post drilling restoration reports – Operator failed to submit a restoration report to the Department within 60 calendar days after post drilling restoration under 25 Pa. Code § 78a.65 (a)(1).
Incident Date/Time: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling
PA Permit Violation Issued to EQT PROD CO in Carroll Township, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 12/06/2023 to EQT PROD CO in Carroll Township, Washington county. 78a65(e) – SITE RESTORATION – Post drilling restoration reports – Operator failed to submit a restoration report to the Department within 60 calendar days after post drilling restoration under 25 Pa. Code § 78a.65 (a)(1).
Incident Date/Time: 2023-12-06 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling
PA Permit Violation Issued to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 12/06/2023 to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington county. SWMA 301 – MANAGEMENT OF RESIDUAL WASTE – Person operated a residual waste processing or disposal facility without obtaining a permit for such facility from DEP. Person stored, transported, processed, or disposed of residual waste inconsistent with or unauthorized by the rules and regulations of DEP.
Incident Date/Time: 2023-12-06 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling
PA Permit Violation Issued to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 12/06/2023 to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington county. 78.57(a) – CONTROL, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF PRODUCTION FLUIDS – Operator failed to collect the brine and other fluids produced during operation, service and plugging of the well in a tank, pit or a series of pits or tanks, or other device approved by the Department or Operator discharged brine or other fluids on or into the ground or into waters of the Commonwealth.
Incident Date/Time: 2023-12-06 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling
PA Permit Violation Issued to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 12/06/2023 to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington county. 91.34(A) – ACTIVITIES UTILIZING POLLUTANTS – Failure to take necessary measures to prevent the substances from directly or indirectly reaching waters of this Commonwealth, through accident, carelessness, maliciousness, hazards of weather or from another cause.
Incident Date/Time: 2023-12-06 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling
PA Permit Violation Issued to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 12/06/2023 to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington county. 78.66(b) – REPORTING RELEASES – Owner or operator failed to report a reportable release of brine on or into the ground at the well site within 2 hours after detecting or discovering the releases.
Incident Date/Time: 2023-12-06 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling
PA Permit Violation Issued to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington County
Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 12/06/2023 to DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington county. 78.54 – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS – Operator failed to control and dispose of fluids, residual waste and drill cuttings, including tophole water, brines, drilling fluids, drilling muds, stimulation fluids, well servicing fluids, oil, and production fluids in a manner that prevents pollution of the waters of the Commonwealth.
Incident Date/Time: 2023-12-06 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling
PA Permit Violation Issued to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington County
Description: Administrative violation issued on 12/06/2023 to RICE DRILLING B LLC in Fallowfield Township, Washington county. 78a65(e) – SITE RESTORATION – Post drilling restoration reports – Operator failed to submit a restoration report to the Department within 60 calendar days after post drilling restoration under 25 Pa. Code § 78a.65 (a)(1).
Incident Date/Time: 2023-12-06 00:00:00
Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling