Ohio prepares to lease state parks for oil and gas exploration - The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio prepares to lease state parks for oil and gas exploration

Ohio's state parks could be auctioned for oil and gas drilling after meeting Monday
Anna Staver

Fourteen parcels of state land−including parts of Salt Fork State Park and Zepernick Wildlife Area−could go up for auction Monday to oil and gas companies that want to drill underneath them.

The Oil & Gas Land Management Commission is scheduled to review nominations for fracking those pieces of public land at its 10 a.m. meeting. And they have two options for each parcel: Approve a set of terms for leasing those mineral rights or take more time to craft conditions.

Ohio law gives them 60 days from Monday to decide.

Environmental groups like Save Ohio Parks want commissioners to wait until Attorney General Dave Yost completes an investigation into how many of the 1,100 pro-fracking emails submitted to the commission were fraudulent.

An investigation by Cleveland.com found dozens of Ohioans who said they had no idea how their names ended up on pro-fracking letters.

"These apparently fraudulent letters have no place in any decisions that would irrevocably alter our beloved state parks, wildlife areas and public lands," Save Our Parks committee member Cathy Cowan Becker said in a statement.

More: As Ohio makes way for fracking beneath state parks, locals call for transparency

But while the commission could delay its decision, Ohio's new state law makes it hard for them to deny these nominations.

In December 2022, Republicans changed the wording regarding leasing public lands for oil and gas exploration from "may" to "shall."

Proponents said the change simply clarified what Ohio lawmakers wanted when they first permitted drilling underneath public lands a decade ago. Require state officials to lease Ohio's mineral rights if applicants met specific requirements.

Environmental organizations said this was a sneaky last-minute maneuver by Republicans to open public lands to fracking without public input. Earth Justice, Ohio Environmental Council, Sierra Club and Buckeye Environmental Network have challenged the law in court.

"Fracking will industrialize our parks, drain and pollute our lakes and rivers of millions of gallons of water for generations, destroy plant, animal, and insect environments, and emit massive amounts of greenhouse gases−including methane−that accelerate climate change," Save Ohio Parks' Randi Pokladnik said in a statement. "We don't need frackers near our parks. We do need pristine parks our citizens can enjoy for generations."

Ohio Oil & Gas Association President Rob Brundrett said in an April interview that opponents of these leases were exaggerating the risks.

"There's this misconception that the industry is out there circling state parks and is going to destroy public lands," Brundrett said. "The industry is very highly regulated. Our folks who work for these companies live here as well. It's in our interest to do this safely."

Drilling won't be happening inside the state parks either. Gov. Mike DeWine has said he won't approve surface drilling, and Brundrett said the companies he represents weren't looking to do so.

The oil and gas companies desire often sits more than a mile below ground and be accessed by running pipes from several thousand feet away.

"If there’s ever drilling around Salt Fork and under Salt Fork, your experiences as a tourist, as a citizen, will not change one bit," Brundrett said. "You will still be able to enjoy the lake and the trails."

This story will be updated.

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.