This is the final post in the series discussing water rights & regulation in the Utica and Marcellus Shale Regions. The first post discussed how oil & gas companies select water resources to supply their drilling activities. The second post discussed the riparian water rights doctrine which is followed in the Midwest. This final post
Oil & Gas Triggers Renewed Focus on Ohio Water Rights
Oil & gas development in Ohio has reinvigorated an area of law- water rights- that had laid mostly dormant for more than a century. The need for fresh water for fracking has resulted in large investments in water infrastructure and competition among companies to secure access to prime sources of fresh water.
According to the
Ohio High Court Ruling on Local Authority Over Fracking More Limited Than Portrayed
Municipalities across the country have attempted to place restrictions on the use of fracking associated with oil & gas drilling. Most cases involve outright bans on fracking or more rigorous permitting requirements. Ohio was no different. Other states, like Pennsylvania and New York, both allowed local regulation of fracking. Ohio was different
Ohio Warns Oil & Gas Companies to Comply with Federal Hazardous Reporting Requirements
Back in April of this year, a citizen group filed a petition that argued Ohio illegally tried to exempt oil & gas companies from complying with federal emergency planning and citizen reporting requirements under the "Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act ("EPCRA"). EPCRA requires companies that store certain hazardous chemical above certain thresholds to inform
Ohio EPA Guidance On TENORM Oil & Gas Related Wastes
This past summer the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 59 which changed various aspects of the regulatory approach toward oil & gas waste material management. One aspect dealt with under H.B. 59 was the regulation of oil & gas related waste that may be considered technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM). H.B. 59
Governor Releases Bill to Regulate Shale Gas Drilling and Wastewater Disposal
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Right now there is no other topic in Ohio that generates more news coverage than horizontal gas drilling (or "fracking"). It seems a day doesn’t go by without a new news story regarding fracking or related developments.
Ohio has seen oil & gas wells installed for well over a hundred years. However, until recently huge
Legislation Introduced to Implement Great Lakes Compact following Governor Kasich Veto
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Representative Wachtmann has introduced H.B 473 which will implement Ohio’s regulatory program under the Great Lakes Compact. H.B. 473 follows last summer’s veto by Governor Kasich of H.B. 231 which was criticized by environmental groups and former Governor Taft and Senator Voinovich as not protective enough of Lake Erie.
The Great Lakes Compact was
Study Reveals Environmental Issues in Oil & Gas Leases
There was an excellent article in the New York Times discussing the issues homeowners and landowners are facing when signing oil & gas leases- Learning Too Late of the Perils in Oil & Gas Leases.
The Times reviewed 111,000 oil & gas leases from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York Texas and West Virginia. It found