Activists Up in Arms Over Ohio Fracking Chemical Bill
Activists seem to be happy only when they're angry |
Proposed changes to Ohio's fracking chemical reporting law are drawing concerns from first responders and environmental activists, but Department of Natural Resources officials said they didn't ask for the changes.
A wide-ranging environmental and agricultural bill passed by the House last weekwould change the way oil and gas companies report chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, a process in which sand, water and chemicals are injected underground to break up the earth and allow oil and gas to escape.
ODNR spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle said the department requested a law change allowing it to establish an online database for this information, which could be accessed 24/7 by first responders, emergency planners and the public.
"This would be cutting-edge to have the information on a database anyone could have," McCorkle said. "This is very transparent."
But a provision added last week to House Bill 490 appears to block the public and neighboring first responders and emergency planners from the database. Environmental activists said the bill would hurt first responders' ability to do their jobs while giving more power to ODNR.Read the whole article by clicking here.
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