The ruling came down on Tuesday.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 4-3 Tuesday that local governments can’t ban fracking in their municipality, or institute zoning regulations that would supersede drilling activity, complementing current state law upholding such prohibitions.
The decision also stated that governments could not enforce any current regulations or bans, as they conflict with the state’s “executive authority” regarding oil and gas drilling, which is overseen by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
In 2014’s election, Athens residents overwhelmingly supported an initiative to ban fracking practices within city limits. A similar initiative nearly made it to the November 2013 ballot, though the Athens County Board of Elections denied the ban from appearing on the ballot, considering the state has sole power regarding drilling regulations.
Councilman Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward, said 78 percent of voters were in favor of the 2014 ban.
Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl said Tuesday’s ruling was “unfortunate”, adding it’s unfair for the state to void Athens’ ban.
“I guess that means the voice of the people doesn’t matter,” Wiehl said. “We said ‘We want local control,’ and then they take it away.”
The lawsuit leading to the Supreme Court decision involved Munroe Falls’ zoning ordinances and local laws regulating oil and gas drilling coming to head with Beck Energy, which had obtained a state permit to drill into the city’s property.
Wiehl said Athens residents will be the ones to experience negative effects of fracking, which involves injecting water and chemicals into the ground to extract fossil fuels.
“We’re the ones who are going to suffer the pollution,” Wiehl said.
Risner said that if unchecked, wastewater from fracking wells and the addition of high-pressure injection wells in Athens County could cause problems. The county currently has no hydraulic fracturing wells, though it contains seven injection wells.
“Where you have high-pressure injection wells, you have earthquakes,” Risner said.
However, Risner said it’s unlikely for a company to want to drill in Athens County, anyway.
“It’s uneconomical at $100 a barrel to frack in Athens County,” Risner said. “It would make no sense.”
Councilwoman Chris Fahl, D-4th Ward, agrees with Risner.
Fahl said any oil or gas company looking to relocate to Athens could still face a number of restrictions.
In 2012, Athens City Council revised city code to ban hydraulic fracturing inside Athens city limits, according to a previous Post report. Two sections of the revision prohibit drilling and mining exploration for petroleum or natural gas and the storage and disposal of wastewater and other byproducts related to drilling and mining.
Though those laws might not be effective anymore, revisions later imposed additional restrictions and fees for oil companies hoping to drill within Athens County.
In 2013, Fahl proposed a “monitoring fee” for oil and gas companies’ “certain extractive” processes, according to a previous Post report.
“We have other laws on the books,” Fahl said. “Our law may be different. We have a litigation and monitoring plan in the revised code, which is pretty specific … It’s not like they would just come in and open up shop.”
Wiehl said fracking bans should stay a local decision.
“When you start talking about the impacts, the impacts are local,” Wiehl said. “I’m kind of disappointed in the top-down approach.”
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