PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 16, 2011
Legislature waves oily flag over Ohio's state parks
GOP-backed effort grants oil and gas drillers' dream for $3.5B jackpot, dealing bad deal to the public interest
Bill sponsors renege on banning drilling in Lake Erie
Columbus, OH - Legislation approved yesterday by the Ohio Senate to open Ohio's state parks to oil and gas exploration is a bad deal so tilted in favor of the oil and gas industry that the public and park managers may have little say over how their state parks are managed.
That is the contention of environmental-conservation leaders who opposed the bill and fought mostly unsuccessfully to limit the industry's domination over drilling decisions on state lands; to safeguard natural resources from inevitable impacts; and the public's control over how its state parks and forests will be managed.
See how Ohio's lawmakers voted
The Senate's near party-line 22-10 vote coupled with a similar, near party-line 54-41 vote last month in the Ohio House of Representatives all but assures final approval by Governor John Kasich. The House is expected to approve changes made by the Senate to the bill (House Bill 133) when the House meets next Tuesday.
Beyond their fundamental opposition to the legislature breaking a 60-year promise to forever protect Ohio's state parks from any industrial activity, environmental conservation leaders point to the following imbalances in the legislation:
- An independent commission-not the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) which owns and manages Ohio's state parks, state forests, and state wildlife areas-will have exclusive authority to lease state lands for oil and gas drilling.
- Once the commission approves a lease on any land on which the state owns the mineral rights and for which no deed restrictions or other encumbrances exist to limit oil and gas drilling, the drilling may commence-even over the protests of the ODNR.
- The commission-not the ODNR or the Attorney General-will design a standard lease form. The lease form must follow the practices of the oil and gas industry.
- The newly formed commission (called the Oil and Gas Leasing Commission) likely will be very industry friendly. The five-member commission is comprised of the chief of the ODNR Division of Geological Survey and four members appointed by the Governor: two representatives of the oil and gas industry, one member with expertise in finance or real estate; and one member representing a statewide environmental or conservation organization.
- The bill provides for an undefined review by the commission of environmental and visitor impacts that may be caused by drilling. Further, unlike the ODNR, the commission's members may or may not possess any expertise in identifying and evaluating the undefined environmental impacts referenced in the bill.
Bill backers in the legislature believe that significant reserves of oil and gas underlie Ohio's state lands. They say lease and royalty payments from the drilling can whittle away an estimated $500 million maintenance backlog that exists in Ohio's 74 state parks.
The bill requires that at least one-eighth of all royalty payments for oil and gas production on state lands-or 12-1/2 cents for each dollar of oil and gas production-must be returned to the state. Following that formula, the oil and gas industry would enjoy $3.5 billion in gross income for the state to net $500 million in royalty payments.
However, there are no concrete or consistent state revenue estimates available at this time for royalty payments, with the range being between $2 million to $20 million-falling miserably short of the $500 million park maintenance backlog.
The environmental conservation groups did win a pair of key amendments to the bill:
- The Senate added a provision, authored by Senator Tim Schaffer (R-31-Lancaster), ensuring public notice and public comment of any proposed drilling projects on state lands.
- A House change, authored by Representative Randy Gardner (R-6-Bowling Green), expressly bars oil and gas drilling in Ohio's 135 state nature preserves.
Beyond those and other improvement the ODNR secured, including the undefined environmental review, the Republican-controlled House and Senate otherwise rejected dozens of amendments offered in committee hearings and during final floor debates by Senator Mike Skindell (D-23-Cleveland), Representative Teresa Fedor (D-47-Toledo), and other minority Democrats to limit drilling, including an effort to restrict oil and gas drilling in Lake Erie.
All Republicans voted YES, with the exception of Senator Grendell (R-18-Chesterfield), Representative Anielski (R-17-Walton Hills), and Representative Hollington (R-98-Chagrin Falls) who voted NO, and all Democrats voted NO except Senator Wilson (D-30-Columbiana) who voted YES.
The Toledo Blade last month exposed the fact that bill sponsors quietly removed a provision in the original, introduced version of the bill to outlaw oil and gas drilling in Lake Erie. In the Blade report, bill sponsors were unable to explain why they abruptly backed away from the proposed ban in the final House version of the bill. Instead, they said Lake Erie is adequately protected by federal law, which bars drilling in or under the Great Lakes.
Drilling opponents point out that the federal law is subject to periodic renewal. Should Congress decide not to renew the ban, it would be up to Ohio to decide whether to protect its part of Lake Erie from drilling.
Conservation leaders suspect that oil and gas industry leaders persuaded lawmakers to eliminate the protective language from the original bill. An Ohio industry lobbyist had testified that Ohio is missing out on developing Lake Erie's oil and gas reserves.
"This is a classic case of being for the ban before they were against it. Who and what changed their mind? It sure looks like someone has their eye on sinking a drill bit or two into our Great Lake," said Jack Shaner, Deputy Director of the Ohio Environmental Council.
"The oil and natural gas industry declared victory over our state's protected lands with the passage of this legislation," said Tracy Sabetta, representing the National Wildlife Federation in Ohio. "They have put a for-sale sign in front of our state parks, demonstrating yet again that the only green things they value are dollar bills."
"I'm not sure who will be hurt the most, travel and tourism businesses, Ohio families that vacation at state parks, or our natural heritage," said Cheryl Johncox, Executive Director of Buckeye Forest Council. "They shouldn't plug a hole in the budget dam with our children's assets. We are creating a natural spending deficit with long term impact."
"This is a sad day for Ohio. This legislation clearly opens the way for very risky and unconventional oil/gas drilling (fracking) in our state parks, and potentially under Lake Erie," commented Ron Prosek, Vice-President of the Network for Oil & Gas Accountability and Protection. "The current General Assembly is quite obviously under the heavy influence of oil and gas interests, and they don't seem to care at all about the public's health, safety, and welfare."
"The late, great Teddy Roosevelt may have just turned over in his grave" said Jen Miller of the Sierra Club Ohio Chapter. "These lands were not set aside for profit, but so the people of Ohio can have beautiful and safe places to hunt, fish, camp, and swim. There is nothing beautiful or safe about an oil rig run by Chesapeake or BP."
Governor Kasich almost certainly will ok the bill, as he proposed oil and gas drilling and expanded logging in state parks in his two-year state operating budget plan.
-end-
|
