Rep. Brennan Reintroducing Legislation Requiring Oil, Gas Well Owners Disclose Chemicals Used in Drilling Operations in State Parks

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Sean Patrick Brennan (D-Parma) today announced he will soon reintroduce House Bill (HB) 562 from the 135th General Assembly which would require horizontal oil and gas well owners that drill in state parks to disclose the chemical components of the materials used in their drilling operations and requires this information to be made public on the Division of Oil and Gas Resource Management’s website.

On the evening of January 2nd, there was a well pad explosion in Guernsey County near Ohio’s Salt Fork State Park. Although this incident did not occur within Salt Fork State Park, this tragedy serves as a reminder that public lands are now open to oil and gas exploration. This tragedy highlights concerns around the risks of oil and gas drilling especially in our sacred state parks that should be preserved for posterity.

HB 507 of the 134th General Assembly was signed into law, mandating the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to permit fracking Ohio’s public lands. There are few regulations on fracking in Ohio and there is no oversight from our federal government over the process or the chemicals that are used. This legislative gap places a substantial responsibility on us to ensure the safety and transparency of fracking operations in our state.

“Studies show that states requiring the disclosure of fracking chemicals experience less pollution, fewer spills of fracking fluids, and fewer hazardous chemicals being used for fracking than states with no disclosure requirements. When taxpayers paid for our parks, there was an implicit contract made with the government that the parks would be protected for posterity so our descendants would be able to experience them in the same way that we can,” said Rep. Brennan.

Incident records from 2015 to 2023 reflect at least 1,900 well-related incidents that have been reported in Ohio.

This accident underscores the need for legislation that aims to improve public safety and transparency by requiring owners of fracking wells to share the chemicals that are being used in this process. The risks to Ohioans’ health and well-being due to potential chemicals being released into our soil and water are too great for there to be no governmental regulation or oversight.