The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) halted new drilling Wednesday on the Rover Pipeline until it addresses its 2 million gallon spill of drilling fluids into Ohio wetlands. The decision was made just days after the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) slapped parent company Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) with a $431,000 fine over numerous […]
By Jen Miller The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake Sunday in Monroe County with the epicenter located at 39.6663º N, 81.244º W. The 3.0 magnitude earthquake was located in the Marietta Unit of the Wayne National Forest. Approximately 40,000 acres of the forest are slated for fracking by the Bureau of Land Management. Earthquakes […]
Conservation groups filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Thursday over invalid and outdated Endangered Species Act approvals of oil and gas leasing plans for the Wayne National Forest. The Center for Biological Diversity, Ohio Environmental Council, Heartwood and […]
By Susan Cosier On the final day of the Illinois State Assembly’s 2016 session, a bill was passed that environmentalists can celebrate—one that significantly increases incentives for renewable energy and energy-efficiency requirements. Though the Democratic-led congress debated the Future Energy Jobs bill for months, legislators and Gov. Bruce Rauner worked together on a bipartisan compromise. […]
Ohio Gov. John Kasich vetoed House Bill 554 Tuesday, a bill that would have effectively extended the freeze on the state’s clean energy standards. Ohio’s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards have been frozen for the past two years, ever since Gov. Kasich signed SB 310 on June 13, 2014. According to the Environmental Defense […]
By Samantha Williams Now that Ohio’s Senate and House have sent an ideologically-driven bill, HB 554, to Gov. John Kasich’s desk that would further delay implementation of the state’s popular clean energy standards (and weaken them, too), the governor has until Dec. 28 to do the smart thing for his state’s economy and the wellbeing […]
Despite heavy opposition from public health and environmental groups, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has leased 759 acres of Ohio’s only national forest for fracking. According to the Associated Press, oil and gas companies from Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Colorado and Oklahoma forked over $1.7 million for the right to explore parts of […]
In the final hours of Ohio’s lame-duck session, lawmakers passed House Bill 554 late Thursday night, which will freeze clean energy mandates for another two years if Gov. John Kasich signs the bill. More than 25,000 jobs could be at risk. The state’s original Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), SB 221, was passed in 2008. It […]
Following its final Environmental Assessment and a “Finding of No Significant Impact,” the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has decided to offer 40,000 acres of Wayne National Forest—Ohio’s only national forest—up for fracking. Fracking could extend to other areas in Ohio, even a national forest. Wayne National Forest is located in southeast Ohio. ACFAN’s Ohio […]