On Thursday, March 22, state Sen. Shannon Jones introduced Senate Bill 315 (SB 315), which mirrors many of the well regulation proposals advanced by the administration of Gov. John Kasich. SB 315 contains numerous provisions concerning the parameters that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) would need to evaluate in order to issue permits for… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Ohio Legislators Remove Severance Tax Provisions From Budget Bill
Posted in Legislative, TaxIn response to Ohio Governor John Kasich’s proposal last week to implement a severance tax on oil and gas production, leaders of Ohio’s state legislature last week announced their intent to adopt a substitute measure excluding the severance tax provisions from the proposed mid-biennial budget review bill. Republican State Rep. Ron Amstutz, chairman of the House Finance… Continue Reading
USEPA Testing of Dimock, PA Well Water Finds No Contamination
Posted in Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, U.S. EPAThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) disclosed in a March 15, 2012 statement that samples of well water at 11 homes in Dimock, Pennsylvania (where residents claim to have suffered health problems from shale drilling operations) “did not show levels of contamination that could present a health concern.” In mid-January, USEPA Region 3 announced that… Continue Reading
Kasich To Fund Ohio Income Tax Cut with Tax Increase on Oil & Gas
Posted in Legislative, TaxOhio Governor John Kasich announced today that he plans to “change Ohio’s severance tax for oil and gas production” in his Midterm Budget Review Bill and use the additional revenue to fund an across-the-board income tax cut. The current severance tax is 20 cents on a $107 barrel of oil and 3 cents per $2.62… Continue Reading
Ohio DNR Report: Youngstown Quakes Linked to Injection Well; Revised Regulations for Brine Disposal Forthcoming
Posted in Disposal WellsOn March 9, 2012, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a preliminary report summarizing its findings as to the relationship between a series of low-magnitude earthquakes near Youngstown, Ohio (that culminated in a December 31, 2011 4.0-magnitude seismic event) and the operation since late 2010 of a class II deep injection well near a fault… Continue Reading