This week several BakerHostetler attorneys will be participating in the Ohio State Bar Association’s (OSBA) 28th Annual Ohio Environment, Energy, and Resources Law Seminar. The seminar is presented by the OSBA Environmental Law Committee and the Natural Resources Law Committee. It runs Thursday, April 25 through Saturday, April 27, at the Cherry Valley Lodge in… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Ohio DNR
Subscribe to Ohio DNR RSS FeedOhio Legislators Strip Radioactive Drilling Waste, Severance Tax Provisions From Budget
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, NORM, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPAYesterday we discussed the grim prospects for the NORM and TENORM provisions in Ohio Governor John Kasich’s proposed budget. Both industry and environmentalists opposed the provisions, and state legislators recently expressed their desire to address the issue in separate legislation. The Ohio House of Representatives released its proposed changes to HB 59 yesterday and, as… Continue Reading
Ohio Legislative Proposal Regulating Radioactive Drilling Wastes To Be Delayed Until Fall
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, NORM, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPAOhio Governor John Kasich’s proposed budget was introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives in early February as HB 59. Our prior analysis of the original bill can be found here. HB 59 includes amendments requested by three Ohio agencies that would govern the disposal of drilling wastes containing naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and… Continue Reading
BakerHostetler Shale Symposium: Political and Policy Trends in 2013
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, Pennsylvania, TexasOn Thursday, March 7, BakerHostetler’s Shale Team will host a panel discussion on political and policy trends related to shale development at The Houstonian Hotel. Michael G. Oxley – former Congressman and Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, former member of the Energy House Committee and co-author of the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 – will moderate… Continue Reading
Ohio Court: State Oil And Gas Law Pre-Empts Local Drilling Regulations
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Litigation, Ohio DNRThe nationwide oil and gas boom has exposed a rift in the relationship between state and local governments seeking to regulate shale drilling and development. This tension has been playing out in several key shale states – for example, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will soon issue its opinion in the Robinson Township case, which will… Continue Reading
Federal Charges Filed for Ohio Drilling Waste Release; Ohio Legislation Proposes Increased Penalties
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, WaterEarly last week, we covered the response of Ohio regulators to an alleged release of hydraulic fracturing waste into a Youngstown, Ohio area tributary by Hard Rock Excavating (Hard Rock), an affiliate of oil and gas player D&L Energy Group (D&L). In addition to the state regulatory enforcement measures against Hard Rock and D&L, the U.S…. Continue Reading
Ohio Budget Bill Restructures Severance, Income, Sales, and Services Taxes
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, TaxRecently this blog has analyzed various aspects of HB 59, including Ohio Governor John Kasich’s relaunched severance tax proposals. Expanding on the tax implications of HB 59, BakerHostetler’s Tax Group has prepared a comprehensive summary of the Governor’s overall budget and tax proposals. This analysis provides very helpful context to Gov. Kasich’s proposed severance taxes on new,… Continue Reading
Ohio Agencies Propose Bill Regulating Radioactive Drilling Wastes
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPALast week we discussed the release of Ohio Governor John Kasich’s proposed budget, in which the Governor proposed changes to the state’s severance taxes for oil and gas wells. On Monday the budget was introduced as a new bill (HB 59) in the Ohio House of Representatives. But also included in HB 59 were a… Continue Reading
Discharge of Drilling Waste in Ohio Triggers Civil and Criminal Enforcement Actions; Heightens Scrutiny of State Regulatory Practices
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, WaterA release of approximately 40,000 gallons of oil and gas operations waste into a Youngstown, Ohio area storm drain flowing into the Mahoning River is igniting a call for tighter regulatory oversight and more transparent emergency response practices by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). ODNR investigators… Continue Reading
Ohio Governor Relaunches Severance Tax Plan In Budget Proposal
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, TaxYesterday Ohio Governor John Kasich unveiled his proposed budget for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 at an hour-long press conference. The Governor’s proposal, a summary of which can be found here, contained a comprehensive plan to enact new severance taxes for certain categories of new hydraulically fractured horizontal wells in the state. By way of background,… Continue Reading
Ohio Supreme Court: Oil and Gas Commission Cannot Review DNR Permit Decisions
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Litigation, Ohio DNRYesterday the Ohio Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision, ruled that the state’s Oil and Gas Commission lacks jurisdiction to hear appeals of drilling permits issued by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The Oil & Gas Commission is a five-member advisory council that hears appeals from persons claiming to be aggrieved or adversely… Continue Reading
Legislators In Ohio General Assembly Propose Numerous New Shale Bills As Close Of Session Nears
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Tax, WaterThe Ohio General Assembly closes its two-year term later this month. The waning days of the term, falling between the November election and the end of the year, are known as the “lame-duck” session. During this session, legislators have introduced a flurry of bills relating to hydraulic fracturing and shale gas drilling. Many of these… Continue Reading
Research On Flowback Recycling, Wastewater Treatment Commencing In Ohio
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, WaterAs shale drilling sites continue coming online in the Utica Shale region, the demand for alternative means of managing the wastes produced by drilling operations has never been stronger. In response to that demand, significant studies are beginning in Ohio that are designed to tackle these issues. Battelle Memorial Institute recently announced that it is… Continue Reading
Ohio, Pennsylvania Issue New Injection Well Permits
Posted in Disposal Wells, Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNR, Pennsylvania, WaterIn the past several weeks, state regulators in Ohio and Pennsylvania have begun to approve long-stalled permit applications for proposed disposal wells. The wells, known in regulatory parlance as Class II underground injection wells, could be used to dispose of flowback wastes generated from hydraulically-fractured shale wells. Two weeks ago, the Ohio Department of Natural… Continue Reading
USGS: Utica Shale Is Third-Largest U.S. Shale Deposit
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNRLate last week, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released data underlying its first assessment of the Utica Shale natural gas formation. According to the USGS’s data, the Utica Shale contains a mean estimate of 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, plus about 940 million barrels of oil and 9 million barrels of gas liquids. This… Continue Reading
Ohio Legislators Introduce Bills To Revise New Chemical Disclosure And Setback Requirements
Posted in Chemical Disclosure, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNRNortheast Ohio legislators introduced legislation yesterday to amend chemical disclosure provisions passed last spring as part of SB 315 and to require new wells be located further from an occupied dwelling. Companion bills SB 379 and HB 596 would require as part of an oil and gas permit application, the disclosure of all chemicals used… Continue Reading
Ohio EPA Issues Advisory As To Landfilling of Drilling Wastes
Posted in Disposal Wells, Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPAOn September 18, 2012, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s (OEPA) Division of Materials and Waste Management issued an advisory to Ohio solid waste landfills as to how they should handle wastes associated with hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The advisory addresses three types of wastes that in some instances can be disposed of in solid… Continue Reading
Activist Groups Lobby For Local Control of Ohio Shale Operations and Waste Disposal
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Ohio DNRThroughout Ohio, environmental groups and community activists increasingly are pressing local units of government to enact local “bans” of hydraulic fracturing and deep injection disposal wells that can accept well flowback. For example, on August 2 the Cincinnati City Council voted to bar injection wells associated with the disposal of waste from hydraulic fracturing; Yellow… Continue Reading
Ohio Governor Issues Executive Order Authorizing Deep Injection Well Regulations
Posted in Disposal Wells, Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNRLate yesterday, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed an emergency executive order granting the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) authority to implement new rules for proposed deep injection wells, used to dispose of drilling wastewater (also known as brine) from Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling. Under the order, the chief of ODNR’s division of oil and… Continue Reading
NRC Study: Hydraulic Fracturing Not a Significant Earthquake Risk
Posted in Disposal Wells, Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNROn Friday, June 15, the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) released a report titled Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies. The report, prepared by Congressional request through the U.S. Department of Energy, analyzes whether a linkage exists between seismic activity and the injection into the earth of fluids related to energy production (e.g., hydraulic fracturing, disposal via… Continue Reading
Governor Kasich Signs SB 315
Posted in Chemical Disclosure, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNREarlier this afternoon Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 315 in a ceremony held at Echogen Power Systems, LLC in Akron, Ohio. The Ohio legislature passed the final version of SB 315 on May 24. Our original analysis of the final version of SB 315 can be found here. Ohio DNR’s webpage on SB 315 can be found… Continue Reading
Ohio Legislature Passes SB 315; Bill Heads to Governor’s Desk
Posted in Chemical Disclosure, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNRUPDATE (May 25, 2012): Late last night the Ohio Senate accepted the House’s version of SB 315, passing it on a 21-8 vote. The bill now heads to Governor John Kasich’s desk for signature (the Governor issued a statement praising passage of the legislation). May 24: Earlier this evening the Ohio House of Representatives and… Continue Reading
Recent Studies Unclear As To Hydraulic Fracturing’s Impact on Seismic Activity
Posted in Ohio DNR, UncategorizedSeveral recently-released studies have examined whether any link exists between hydraulic fracturing activities and recent seismological events. Rather than shaking up common industry understandings, these studies create confusing rumblings from media outlets reporting on the studies. These incomplete media reports create needless confusion as to the tenuous link between hydraulic fracturing operations and seismic activity. … Continue Reading
Ohio Senate Bill 315 Proposes Comprehensive Well Regulations
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNROn 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