Four environmental groups have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block a new law requiring Ohio to accept private petitions to drill for oil and gas beneath state parks.
House Bill (HB) 507 which Republicans passed at the end of the 134th General Assembly modified Ohio’s code so that state agencies must lease the properties they hold for oil and gas extraction, as opposed to just allowing them to. The legislation also instructed the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission to create a set of guidelines for applications.
Opponents of the legislation said it “erodes” state energy policy while proponents said that industry requests to drill for oil and gas on public lands can drag on for years and years and this legislation makes the process more streamlined.
However, the primary legal challenges in the lawsuit submitted on Thursday focused on how lawmakers passed HB 507 into law and how the commission drafted those regulations.
When lawmakers first introduced and passed the legislation in the Ohio House in April 2022, HB 507 only adjusted a state law regulating poultry sales. However, in lame duck session Senate Republicans added several amendments including the expansion of oil and gas drilling rights in state parks.
The final version of the modified law allegedly had one session of consideration where lawmakers in the Senate and House swiftly passed it and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine shortly after signed it into law.
The lawsuit names the state of Ohio and the director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Mary Mertz, as defendants in the action, which was brought by the Ohio Environmental Council, Ohio Valley Allies, Buckeye Environmental Network, and the Sierra Club.
In the complaint, which the plaintiffs submitted to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, it is claimed that HB 507 broke two Ohio Constitutional clauses: the state constitution’s one-subject rule, which requires laws to contain one subject that is clearly expressed in the title, and the three-consideration rule, which requires the legislature to consider every bill on three separate days.
The plaintiffs also contend that drilling in state parks will result in air, noise, and light pollution as well as irreparable landscape harm. They claim that due to the manner in which lawmakers approved the bill, they really had no way of objecting to it at the state capitol.
They claim that the bill alters current circumstances by “removing agency discretion to lease state lands for oil and gas development and replacing that discretion with a mandate that state agencies lease to any interested party with proof of insurance, financial assurances, and registration with ODNR” prior to the implementation of Oil and Gas Land Management rules.
Until a decision is made, they are asking the judge to suspend the state law “pursuant to the mandate.”
A 2011 state law gave state agencies the power, if they choose, to lease out state lands for oil and gas exploration and production. However, the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission has been slow to approve any projects. Former Governor John Kasich signed that bill into law but didn’t appoint anyone to the commission for years. Under DeWine, the commission has met more often but has not approved leases
The lawsuit states that the new law requires state agencies to lease to any interested party who has registered with the ODNR and has insurance and financial assurances, without holding an auction, giving public notice, or providing a chance for public discussion.
According to Ohio Oil and Gas Association President Rob Brundrett the law is about helping producers obtain leases to secluded parcels of state-owned land, not necessarily state parks with stalled projects. He said the law will expedite the process while the ODNR debates rules to govern the leasing process. He also noted that the state would still have the power to turn down unworthy projects.
“There’s nothing in this that would force the state to accept a lease that isn’t appropriate or fair for the state of Ohio,” Brundrett said.
HB 507 is set to go into effect Friday.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Oil Rig” by anita_starzycka.
