With hydraulic fracturing looming in Athens’ near future, state and local officials hope that an Ohio caucus will help strengthen “relatively weak” shale oil and gas drilling.
The Responsible Shale Energy Development Caucus, formed by members of the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives, will help amend current legislation and create laws that will address concerns of many Ohioans, according to a news release.
Neither Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-92nd, nor Sen. Troy Balderson, R-20th, is a member of the caucus because they didn’t know about it.
Topics that have already been addressed by members of the caucus include violations of private property laws, discrepancies in seeking fair revenue for the state, and public and environmental health.
Rep. Robert Hagan, D-60th, one of the caucus’ 12 members, said in the release that the caucus might consider consolidating new legislation into one bill that would address all aspects of hydraulic fracturing.
“Members are already championing these causes in separate bills, but a single bill might give us greater leverage to get some semblance of responsible public policy in place sooner,” Hagan said.
The caucus is also working on laws that will help strengthen the accountability of the oil and gas industry regarding extraction.
Though there were some improvements made to Ohio’s shale drilling laws a year ago, Phillips said oversight over the industry needs to be addressed with new upcoming legislation.
“It is important that we have enough inspectors and strong oversight of this industry from now on,” Phillips said.
Balderson has been a proponent for many of the shale-drilling bills passed last year, his spokesman Joshua Eck said, adding that Ohio legislators have been proactive about drilling and that only adds to the states preparedness.
“Drilling has been happening in Ohio for over a century, and since Ohio is about to face another drilling boom, we need to be more prepared than ever if anything should happen,” Eck said.
Athens Councilwoman Michele Papai, D-3rd Ward, said the caucus shows how Ohioans are becoming increasingly informed about fracking and better understand the ramifications associated with shale drilling.
“The public is now more informed about the consequences and want the legislation to reflect that by being proactive,” Papai said.
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