Protesters camp in Statehouse against drilling

Rep. Teresa Fedor THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER Enlarge | Photo Reprints

COLUMBUS -- State lawmakers have proposed moving oil and gas-drilling rigs into state parks and forests, so protesters, complete with fishing poles, Tuesday set up camp under legislators' noses in the Statehouse.

The budget that recently passed the House and is now under consideration in the Senate would open more park, forest, and other state-controlled land for drilling. A separate bill that could reach the full House as early as next week would establish a new state board to make decisions on which land would be appropriate for leasing.

The budget also allows for the sale of more state timber with the revenue divided for the maintenance of the parks and forests.

"The fact is it's unnecessary," Rep. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) said. "We will not get the revenues that the governor is promising. It'll end up being a broken promise. I guarantee you that.

"There are too many complicated issues, and I think it's just a pie-in-the-sky revenue plan, and something that he's just handing out to his friends in the oil and gas industry."

The roughly two dozen or so protestors had planned to camp out on the Statehouse lawn, but the heavy rains put an end to that. They were forbidden to bring their tents and other equipment, but the protest was moved into the Statehouse basement.

The move to open up more lands for drilling ran into a snag when it became apparent that a large number of forest and park lands over which Ohio has control carry deed restrictions put in place by the federal government or by prior owners that put the land off limits to drilling. In many cases, the state owns the surface rights but not the mineral rights.

Tuesday the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee proposed a revised bill that would create a process for the Department of Natural Resources and other state agencies to classify lands under their control as to their suitability and availability for drilling. It's unclear how many acres of forest, parks, or even lands owned by universities and colleges would be classified as either available for drilling or potentially available if "reasonable efforts" are made to secure the necessary rights.

Jen Klein, who handles energy and environmental issues for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, said drilling "can be done, and it can be done correctly."

"We understood the landscape," she said. "It's not just about the land. It's about actually having the deed to those mineral rights. We were certainly aware of that, but, nevertheless, there are opportunities we should be utilizing."

Under the revised House Bill 133, the board considering potential leases for drilling would have to take into consideration such an operation's impact on the environment and on members of the public who use the property.

Fees collected from those who "nominate" potential sites for drilling would be used to compensate state government for the cost of title searches to determine in which of four classifications state lands should be placed.

Jack Shaner, spokesman for the Ohio Environmental Counsel, said the drilling language represents a broken promise to Ohioans that these lands would be preserved for future generations.

"We want to go to a natural park, not an industrial park," he said.

Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com, or 614-221-0496.