Activists in Ohio have won a battle in the ongoing attempts to reduce the damage done by fracking. The U.S. EPA has decided that a 2001 Ohio statute does not satisfy federal reporting requirements.

Ohio Oil and Gas Industry Favoritism

Teresa Mills of Grove City has spearheaded efforts to keep oil and gas companies in Ohio accountable. The statute passed in 2001 clearly favored these industries. Mills notified the EPA concerning this state law after a chemical emergency last January.

Federal law known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) requires reporting toxic chemicals to Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs). This keeps firefighters and first responders current on any potential harmful chemicals in the area. In 2001 Ohio passed a code stating that an annual report filed with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) satisfies all the required EPCRA safeguards instead. The EPA has since determined that these measures are not sufficient and Ohio businesses had until Sep. 2013 to comply.

Ms. Mills said, “Fracking is more than hazardous enough…But removing frackers wholesale from the nation’s basic safeguards against chemical emergencies is beyond the pale. This is the kind of abject corporate favoritism that causes many Ohioans to regard the Ohio legislature with such scorn.”

Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a process of removing oil and gas from shale rock found in the earth. Waste water is produced as a result and forms at the surface of the drill spot. This waste water can contain harmful chemicals that can be hazardous if not properly contained and disposed.