ATHENS, Ohio — A limited bow hunting program will be held on several City of Athens properties in the coming months, with the goal of controlling the deer population.

Complaints made to the Athens City Council about damage inflicted by white-tailed deer motivated the creation of this program, said Katherine Ann Jordan, the director of the Athens Arts, Parks and Recreation Department. While the Ohio Department of Natural Resources doesn’t estimate the number of deer in any given county, they do keep track of the deer harvested from a county to give a rough idea of the population.

“We really want to encourage the harvesting of doe,” Jordan said. “That’s really important for deer management. … We want deer but we don’t want so many.”

The Department of Arts, Parks and Recreation will determine who gets to hunt these lands via a lottery system, with the drawing of names occurring this Wednesday, Sept. 4. 

Hunters who win the lottery will be required to submit a copy of their hunting license, a $100 fee to hunt on the land and a deer permit before Sept. 20. The fee will go into the city’s recreation fund, which funds labor costs related to organizing the hunt and other associated expenses.

The city’s process is similar to those in other municipalities which allow limited hunting on government owned land, such as Cincinnati’s bow hunting lottery and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources controlled hunts. Outside of hunting on city land, there are no other special privileges afforded to hunters participating in the program; they must obey all laws, rules and regulations.

“Our program is an archery hunt because within city limits you are not allowed to shoot a firearm,” Jordan said. 

To make the job of these hunters easier, they will be allowed to construct temporary deer blinds and tree stands. However, baiting is strictly prohibited. Micheal Tonkovich, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Deer Program administrator, anticipates that these deer may behave differently than those in other areas due to their frequent exposure to people, but encouraged hunters to remain cautious about the unpredictability of wildlife.

“While these deer have habituated to humans, they are likely to respond differently to people in elevated stands/trees,” Tonkovich said in an email.

In total there will be five sessions of bow hunting held across 13 city properties, totalling over 600 acres of land. Each session will last a few weeks spanning from the end of September to the start of February, resulting in 65 permits given out across bow season. 

According to Jordan, 31 hunters have entered into the lottery as of Sept. 4, meaning that every hunter will have the opportunity to hunt at least twice.

“I don’t believe that we will have every property full for every session with the number of people registered,” Jordan said. “I think it’s good that we are not inundated with so many people as we figure everything out.”

Tonkovich is happy to see the city hold a limited hunt, but wants people to know that limited hunts aren’t a quick fix.

“If your herd is sufficiently large, reducing it might actually trigger a density-dependent response in reproduction, which translates to more deer to be removed the following year,” Tonkovich said in an email. “In short, it is quite complicated.”

According to Jordan, the City of Athens has no target number for the amount of deer they’d like harvested and is more interested in gathering demographic information on the deer herds of Athens.

 “The city is interested in the number of deer harvested, their gender, and when and where they are harvested in order to get a better sense of the deer population,” Jordan said. 

The post Athens to allow deer hunting on select properties appeared first on Athens County Independent.

ATHENS, Ohio — The city of Athens may not enforce its ban on single-use plastic bags because it violates state law, a local judge ruled on Aug. 28.

According to the judgment entry, Athens County Court of Common Pleas Judge George McCarthy found that the city’s Chapter 11.13 (created by Athens City Council Ordinance 0-25-23 to regulate single-use plastic bags) violates state law. He issued a permanent injunction against the city, meaning the city may not enforce the ordinance. 

“We’re disappointed with Judge McCarthy’s ruling. We plan to discuss this result with City Council to determine our next steps in protecting Athens’ Home Rule authority,” Athens City Law Director Lisa Eliason said in an email.

The city has 30 days to appeal. It may also request a stay of the court’s orders, which would stall the injunction until the appeals court reaches a verdict. In the meantime, the ordinance banning single-use plastic bags is no longer effective. 

Eliason said in an email that since May 2023 the city has never fined a business for non-compliance with the ordinance. The ordinance authorized a $150 fine for business non-compliance. 

State tries to stop Athens’ plastic bag ban, now in effect

Athens responds to lawsuit over plastic bag ban

The city argued that its single-use plastic bag ban was allowed under Ohio’s Home Rule provision. The state argued that Ohio Revised Code 3736.021 governs the public’s usage of single-use plastic bags — and overrides home rule.

Judge McCarthy found that the city’s prohibition on single-use plastic bags is in “direct conflict” with state law. Moreover, McCarthy found that the usage of single-use plastic bags is an issue governed by the state’s solid waste management plan.

According to the judgment entry, the city “suggested” that single-use plastic bags are not recyclable — at least locally. But the court also found that single-use plastic bags are recyclable, at least in part because of local organizations’ partnerships with NexTrex, a national organization that facilitates the collection of film plastic for recycling. 

In his ruling, McCarthy wrote that “it is more likely that the City’s recycling services refuses to accept them for recycling because they may tend to jam the machines. … But the bags do not necessarily go to the landfill even though they are not accepted by Athens’ single stream recycling service. The single-use plastic bags can be reused by consumers or returned to several stores that accept such bags. And those bags can go on to be recycled.”

“The public interest of Ohioans is served by continuing to allow them to decide what bags to use,” the judgment entry also stated. 

The ruling’s mention of NexTrex — along with Facebook posts and an NPR story from 2022 — could give the city grounds to overturn McCarthy’s decision, according to former common pleas court judge Tom Hodson.

“The parties agreed that the original facts were not in dispute, but then the court, on its own, added these additional allegations of fact from sources beyond the record, like Facebook,” Hodson wrote in an analysis of the decision for his Inside Courts column. “The city may argue, on appeal, that these new alleged facts were not agreed upon by the parties and may in fact be disputed — thereby, negating one of the criteria for ordering a summary judgment.”

Unpacking the decision overturning Athens’ plastic bag ban

Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers, Inc., the Ohio Attorney General’s office, and Athens ReThinks Plastics, a local group that was in favor of the city’s ban, did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication. 

Two local businesses that converted from plastic bags to paper (Seaman’s and College Bookstore) told WOUB they do not plan to make immediate changes to their businesses. 

Athens City Council will meet tonight, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. in Athens City Hall, Council Chambers, third floor, 8 E. Washington St. Meetings are also available online.

Disclosure: Tom Hodson is secretary of the board of Southeast Ohio Independent News, the entity that publishes the Athens County Independent.

The post Court rules against Athens’ plastic bag ban appeared first on Athens County Independent.

Mary Annette Pember
ICT

Former President Donald Trump’s decision to tap U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate drew immediate concerns from Indigenous leaders over his views toward Indian Country.

Vance called Indigenous Peoples’ Day a “fake holiday” and praised Columbus just a few weeks after questioning the term “two-spirit” in separate postings in 2021 on social media. He also has fought name-changes requested by tribal leaders for historical sites.

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The social media comments were made before Vance, a native of Middletown, Ohio, was sworn in as one of Ohio’s U.S. senators in 2023.

“‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day” is a fake holiday created to sow division,” Vance wrote on Oct. 11, 2021, on the social media site now known as X. “Of course, Joe Biden is the first president to pay it any attention.”

In a subsequent posting on Oct. 11, Vance wrote, “A half a millennium ago Columbus used technology developed in Europe to sail across a giant ocean and discover a new continent. Today we celebrate that daring and ingenuity. Happy Columbus Day!”

A month earlier, he commented on a Sept. 8, 2021, post from Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York that makes references to “trans, two-spirit and non-binary people.”

“I’m sorry but what the hell is two-spirit?” Vance asked on the site known then as Twitter. “Would love if progressives would just stop inventing words.”

This week, after the announcement that Vance would be Trump’s vice presidential nominee, leaders at the Urban Native Collective issued a statement expressing concern over his remarks.

“These remarks undermine the inherent rights and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples and perpetuate historical inaccuracies,” according to the statement issued on Wednesday, July 17, by the collective, a nonprofit based in Cincinnati that advocates for Indigenous peoples.

‘Resilience and strength’

President Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2021, lending the most significant boost yet to efforts to refocus the federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus toward an appreciation of Native peoples.

The day is observed each year on Oct.11, along with Columbus Day, which is established by Congress.

“For generations, federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures,” Biden wrote in the Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation. “Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society.”

In a separate proclamation on Columbus Day, Biden praised the role of Italian-Americans in U.S. society, but also referenced the violence and harm Columbus and other explorers of the age brought with them.

Making landfall in what is now the Bahamas on Oct. 12, 1492, Columbus, an Italian explorer, was the first in a wave of European explorers who decimated Native populations in the Americas in quests for gold and other wealth, including people to enslave.

Vance has said little during his political tenure regarding Native Americans or Indian policy, as reported by Indianz.com.

Opposing tribal requests

Vance has opposed the renaming of several sites requested by tribal leaders, however.

In August 2023, as a U.S. Senator, Vance issued a public letter asking the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture to oppose changing Ohio’s Wayne National Forest to the Buckeye National Forest.

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The agriculture department had proposed changing the name in response to requests from tribes and local community members, according to a press release issued by the agency. The changes is still under discussion.

“The forest is currently named after General Anthony Wayne, whose complicated legacy includes leading a violent campaign against the Indigenous peoples of Ohio that resulted in their removal from their homelands,” according to the statement.

In his letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and the Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, Vance wrote, “The federal effort denigrates Ohio history and represents a lack of fidelity to our nation’s founding generation.”

He went on to write, “I take exception to the U.S.D.A.’s designation of Wayne’s legacy as ‘complicated.” Labeling the life and times of Wayne in such a way is an all-too-common dismissive, academic handwave that is beneath the dignity of the U.S. government.”

In 2023, Sabrina Eaton of Cleveland.com described Wayne as a general in the Revolutionary War, nicknamed Mad Anthony Wayne either because of his bold military tactics or his hot temper.

In 2019, ICT quoted George Ironstrack, assistant director of education for the Myaammia Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, about Wayne’s history with Native peoples in Ohio. The center is an initiative led by the Miami Nation of Oklahoma, whose homelands include lands in and around the Ohio river valley. They were removed from the state in 1840.

“As part of his campaign, Wayne’s forces systematically burned Miami villages, food stores and crops,” Ironstrack told ICT.

According to Ironstrack, Wayne’s strategy of starvation culminated by the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers, which forced the Miami tribe to the negotiating table and resulted in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville in which the Miami and other tribes ceded most of their lands in Ohio.

Vance, who is the author of the memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” frequently touts his hardscrabble upbringing and aversion to elitism in politics as bridges to the populist wing of the Republican Party. He also opposed Trump sharply before shifting his rhetoric to support the former president.

A story published Thursday, July 18, by the news site Wired, however, details the senator’s contacts with the elite, conservative heavyweights, wealthy financiers and others that he previously had denounced.

The contacts came from a Wired analysis of Vance’s public Venmo account network. Venmo is a digital payment application that frequently makes users’ phone contacts and friends’ lists public.

Among those listed as Vance contacts is Amalia Halikias of the controversial Project 2025. Created by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, Project 2025 sets forth a political plan that calls for dismissal of thousands of public servants, expanded power of the president, dismantling of the Department of Education, halting sales of the abortion pill and many other actions that appeal to the far right. Trump has claimed ignorance of Project 2025 but Vance has stated in previous interviews that the document has “some good ideas.”

‘We demand respect’

Vance’s nomination as the GOP’s vice presidential candidate came during the Republican National Convention, which ran July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Indianz.com noted a lack of Native events during the convention in a state that is home to 11 federally recognized tribes, but ICT reported the scheduling of a federal Indian policy roundtable organized by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is Cherokee.

A couple of Native delegates from Oklahoma were also voting at the convention, which included appearances from some tribal leaders from Wisconsin, including Forest County Potawatomi Chairman James Crawford. Former Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer, who made a statement during the 2020 convention, had been expected to attend the roundtable discussion.

The announcement of Vance as the vice presidential candidate, however, came at the last minute as the convention was set to begin.

“Our rights and history as Indigenous peoples are not up for debate; we demand respect from someone in such a potentially powerful position like the vice president,” Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard, executive director of the Urban Native Collective, told ICT. Massolini-Blanchard is a citizen of the CHamoru Nation of the island of Guam.

“It’s saddening that political leaders continue to stand by these colonized names that hold such deep pain for Indigenous peoples.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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ATHENS, Ohio – During a special session held during its committees meeting Monday, Athens City Council heard second reading of an ordinance that would use a different source for half of the salaries for two municipal court employees.

Currently, the two employees’ pay comes from the city’s General Fund. By reducing the General Fund’s share of the wages to 50%, the proposed ordinance would bring the General Fund balance closer to its statutory minimum threshold of 7.5% of annual expenditures. The fund balance was at 6% in late May, Athens City Auditor Kathy Hecht said at a previous council meeting. The goal is to reach 9%.

Council heard first reading of the ordinance, which would amend the 2024 appropriation ordinance, at its June 10 meeting. The ordinance, as drafted by the municipal court, amends the 2024 appropriation ordinance so that half of the employees’ wages come from the General Fund and half from grants to be obtained by the court.  

At Monday night’s meeting, however, council discussed moving $55,000 in salary expenses to come municipal court’s DUI Court Fund instead of the General Fund. While that approach would help the General Fund balance, paying court employees with DUI funds could create a problem, said council member Solveig Spjeldnes, 1st Ward. 

“Requiring the court to pay for employees with DUI funds turns that into an incentive to find people with DUI charges to maintain their employees,” Spjeldnes said.

Speldnes added that while she “loves” the idea of relieving financial stress from the General Fund, courts should not be self-funded and should be sustained by the General Fund and grants. So, she is unsure if she will vote to pass the ordinance on third reading.

“I don’t really like the idea of setting a precedent of having fines and fees be what sustains our courts,” said Spjeldnes. “I don’t think that’s philosophically a good idea.”

Monday’s meeting was a regularly scheduled committee meeting; committee meetings are intended for general discussion rather than official action. Although the special session appeared on the meeting agenda, no public notice of the change appears to have been made. Ohio law requires public bodies to provide at least 24 hours’ public notice of special meetings.

City Law Director Lisa Eliason told the Independent that council agreed to add the special session to the June 24 meeting at its June 17 meeting. In an email, Council Clerk Debbie Walker said the special session agenda was published on June 21. The Independent is investigating the matter.

Athens City Council’s next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, in Athens City Hall, Council Chambers, third floor, 8 E. Washington St. Meetings are also available online. Regular sessions are on the first and third Mondays of the month; committee meetings are on the second and fourth Mondays. Regular meetings are not held in July unless otherwise ordered by the council.

This story was updated at 3:15 p.m. June 27 to include information from Debbie Walker.

The post Athens council considers using DUI Court Fund to pay workers appeared first on Athens County Independent.

Micki Olson, University at Albany, State University of New York

You’ve probably heard people say, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” There’s a lot of truth to that phrase, and it’s important to understand it as summer temperatures rise.

Humidity doesn’t just make you feel sticky and uncomfortable – it also creates extra dangerous conditions on hot days. Together, too much heat and humidity can make you sick. And in severe cases, it can cause your body to shut down.

Meteorologists talk about the risk of heat and humidity using the heat index, but it can be confusing.

I’m a risk communication researcher. Here’s what you need to know about the heat index and some better ways meteorologists can talk about the risks of extreme heat.

What is the heat index, and how is it measured?

Heat index is the combination of the actual air temperature and relative humidity:

• Air temperature is how hot or cold the air is, which depends on factors such as the time of day, season of the year and local weather conditions. It is what your thermometer reads in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.

• Relative humidity compares how much water vapor is in the air with how much water vapor the air could hold at that temperature. It’s expressed as a percentage.

The heat index tells you what it “feels like” outside when you factor in the humidity. For example, if it’s 98 degrees Fahrenheit (36.7 Celsius) with 55% relative humidity, it might feel more like a scorching 117 F (47.2 C).

But there’s a catch: Heat index is measured in shady conditions to prevent the sun’s angle from affecting its calculation. This means if you’re in direct sunlight, it will feel even hotter.

Apparent temperature, alerts and wet bulb

“Apparent temperature” is another term you might hear this summer.

Apparent temperature is the “feels like” temperature. It considers not only temperature and humidity but also wind speed. This means it can tell us both the heat index and wind chill – or the combination of the temperature and wind speed. When conditions are humid, it feels hotter, and when it’s windy, it feels colder.

We found that apparent temperature is even less well understood than the heat index, possibly due to the word apparent having various interpretations.

There are a few other ways you may hear meteorologists talk about heat.

Wet bulb globe temperature considers temperature, humidity, wind and sunlight. It’s especially useful for those who spend time outdoors, such as workers and athletes, because it reflects conditions in direct sunlight.

HeatRisk is a new tool developed by the National Weather Service that uses colors and numbers to indicate heat risks for various groups. More research is needed, however, to know whether this type of information helps people make decisions.

In many places, the National Weather Service also issues alerts such as excessive heat watches, warnings and advisories.

The risk is getting lost in translation

Knowing about heat and humidity is important, but my colleagues and I have found that the term heat index is not well understood.

We recently conducted 16 focus groups across the United States, including areas with dry heat, like Phoenix, and more humid areas, like Houston. Many of the people involved didn’t know what the heat index was. Some confused it with the actual air temperature. Most also didn’t understand what the alerts meant, how serious they were or when they should protect themselves.

In our discussions with these groups, we found that meteorologists could get across the risk more clearly if, instead of using terms like heat index, they focus on explaining what it feels like outside and why those conditions are dangerous.

Watches, warnings and advisories could be improved by telling people what temperatures to expect, when and steps they can take to stay safe.

Climate change is exacerbating heat risks by making extreme heat more common, intense and long-lasting. This means clear communication is necessary to help people understand their risk and how they can protect themselves.

What you can do to protect yourself

With both hot and humid conditions, extra precautions are necessary to protect your health. When you get hot, you sweat. When sweat evaporates, this helps the body cool down. But humidity prevents the sweat from evaporating. If sweat cannot evaporate, the body has trouble lowering or regulating its temperature.

Although everyone is at risk of health issues in high heat, people over 65, pregnant women, infants and young children can have trouble cooling their bodies down or may run a higher risk of becoming dehydrated. Certain health conditions or medications can also increase a person’s risk of heat-related illness, so it’s important to talk to your doctor about your risk.

Heat illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, are preventable if you take the right steps. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focuses on staying cool, hydrated and informed.

• Stay cool: Use air conditioning in your home, or spend time in air-conditioned spaces, such as a shopping mall or public library. Limit or reschedule your exercise and other outdoor plans that occur in the middle of the day when it is hottest.

• Stay hydrated: Drink more water than you might otherwise, even if you don’t feel thirsty, so your body can regulate its temperature by sweating. But avoid sugary drinks, caffeine or drinks with alcohol, because these can cause you to become dehydrated.

• Stay informed: Know the signs of heat illness and symptoms that can occur, such as dizziness, weakness, thirst, heavy sweating and nausea. Know what to do and when to get help, because heat illnesses can be deadly.

Micki Olson, Senior Researcher in Emergency and Risk Communication, University at Albany, State University of New York

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The post Heat index warnings can save lives on dangerously hot days − if people understand what they mean appeared first on Athens County Independent.

Ohio has seen a big jump in the number of agency orders forcing property owners to allow oil and gas development on their land, whether they want it or not. 

The number of so-called “unitization” orders issued by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has surged in recent years, peaking at 112 in 2022 and continuing at nearly 100 last year, according to data obtained from the agency by the Energy News Network. 

The practice is common, with rules varying by state. In Ohio, lawmakers began working to streamline the process for oil and gas companies in 2019, coinciding with a decline in the state’s gas production after a seven-year fracking boom.

Those changes run contrary to other efforts in Ohio to restrict energy development in the name of neighbors’ private property rights, including strict wind farm setbacks passed in 2014 and a 2021 law allowing counties to block new wind and solar projects.

Under Ohio law, companies must meet several conditions before initiating unitization, including a showing that at least 65% of property owners in a project area consent to drilling. 

Critics say the process was already tilted in the companies’ favor, and that the recent changes will make it even harder to block drilling or negotiate concessions.

“All the cards are stacked against us,” said Patrick Hunkler. In 2018, ODNR issued an unitization order for property he and his wife, Jean Backs, own in Belmont County, which is one of the state’s top-producing counties for oil and gas. The developer later canceled the project, so the order was revoked. More recently, Ascent Resources had tried to lease their land before backing out.  

The legal process known as unitization has been available to Ohio oil and gas companies since 1965 but was rarely used until about a decade ago, after advances in drilling technology made it profitable to tap into harder-to-develop pockets of petroleum.

“The unitization process exists to protect the rights of those … who want to lease their minerals for development,” said Rob Brundrett, president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, “so that a small minority of owners … cannot stop everyone else from realizing the full potential of their property and minerals.”

For petroleum companies, the process has also promoted efficient oil and gas extraction. Otherwise, reduced pressure from too many wells could reduce the total recovery from an area.

Companies must show they have consent from owners of 65% of the area above a common oil and gas deposit before they can seek a unitization order. Companies also must show they tried to reach an agreement with holdouts, and that drilling under those properties is necessary to substantially increase the amount of oil and gas recovered. Any added value must also exceed the related costs.

“Our experience at the unitization hearing was that oil and gas runs the show,” Backs said.

Hearings don’t consider environmental impacts or other reasons landowners might not want drilling and fracking. “It’s just not part of the evaluation,” said Heidi Robertson, a Cleveland State University law professor who has written about unitization. Rather, she said, the basic question is: “Will adding this land to the unit make it easier for the developer to more efficiently and more profitably get the oil and gas out of the ground?”

The answer is almost always yes. 

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has denied only one unitization application since 2012, according to spokesperson Andy Chow. Meanwhile, it has approved more than 500 applications, with more than half the orders issued after 2020. The agency hired an additional employee in 2021 to deal with an increase in applications, Chow said.

Owners whose property is unitized won’t have pads or roads on their property, but they still get royalties and other payments. Ohio law requires “just and reasonable” compensation for landowners.

In most cases that compensation starts with a 12.5% royalty. Additional payments are adjusted for the developer’s expenses and other factors and the compensation is often smaller than that for voluntary participants. Orders typically have let companies recoup twice those amounts before unitized landowners can get payouts beyond royalties, said attorney Matthew Onest, whose firm has represented multiple landowners in oil and gas matters. 

In some cases, property owners must wait even longer. At a March 27 hearing, for example, drilling company EAP Ohio asked for a “500% penalty” for owners who did not agree to a lease. Anna Biblowitz, a negotiator for Encino Energy, claimed the higher penalty was justified by the developer’s risk and “as a motivator for other working interest owners to participate.” A ruling in the case is due this month.

Why are there more orders?

Some property owners, including Backs and Hunkler, worry about climate change and other environmental impacts. They said companies wouldn’t agree to requested lease terms for no flaring, methane monitoring and monitoring of the spring on their property.

“These oil and gas companies aren’t addressing the important issues of our environment,” Hunkler said.

Other landowners may hold out because they want more money, said Onest. “They kind of dig their heels in,” he said.

Industry experts said market forces could partially explain the rise in unitization cases. Property owners could hold out more often because they want higher payments like others got early on in the state’s fracking boom. Or, higher oil prices might be motivating companies to pursue projects that once seemed too complicated to be worthwhile. 

State officials have made the process easier, too. In 2019, lawmakers added language about how to calculate the 65% threshold, tucking the terms into a 2,600-page state budget law. Matt Hammond, who was then president of the Ohio Oil & Gas Association, told lawmakers the added language was meant to “clarify” the law. 

In practice, the change likely lowered a barrier for companies to use the tool, according to Clif Little, an Ohio State University Extension educator in Old Washington, Ohio. “If you’re seeing actually more [cases] for forced unitization, that would be a significant player in that,” Little said.

Another law passed in 2022 requires the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to hold hearings on unitization applications within 60 days. The agency must rule within 60 days of the hearing, and also let companies know in advance if an application is incomplete.

For industry, the primary benefit from the 2022 law change was to get certainty about timing. “This impacted how a producer was able to plan their drilling schedules,” said Mike Chadsey, director of external affairs for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources also changed its guidelines last year to standardize unitization applications. The agency’s website said the changes were “aimed at streamlining the review process” and that applications would include fewer documents.

Among other things, companies don’t need to file testimony from engineers, geologists and landmen in advance of hearings — something they had generally done in the past, said Robertson at Cleveland State. In her view, that further limits any dissenting landowners’ ability to prepare challenges to such testimony when the hearing does take place.

The Covid-19 pandemic also affected unitization hearings, which are now generally held via Zoom. “Allowing these meetings to be held via Zoom is a benefit to all parties involved,” Chadsey said, adding that it’s more convenient for landowners.

Folks in “suits and ties” had to come from out of state when ODNR held the unitization hearing for Hunkler and Backs’ property back in 2017. With a remote format, though, the hearing panel and company personnel “don’t have to look at you in person,” Hunkler said.

Oil and gas companies said they take every step to avoid forced leases, but that unitization is an important tool when that is not possible.

“When those means are exhausted, which often includes situations of poor record-keeping or the inability to locate an owner, unitization can be a tool to ensure property and mineral rights are realized by all stakeholders,” said Zack Arnold, president and CEO of Infinity Natural Resources.

Jackie Stewart, vice president of external affairs for Encino Energy voiced a similar position. “Encino makes every attempt to lease all landowners in each unit and only utilized unitization after all leasing efforts are exhausted, so the property rights of Ohio’s landowners can be realized,” she said.

“This isn’t something any lawyer can handle. You have to be an expert in this stuff,” Robertson said. “And all the experts are on the other side, because that’s where the money is.”

Robertson is unaware of any legislation to make matters fairer for landowners who don’t want to lease their land. And gerrymandering makes it unlikely such bills will be passed anytime soon. As she sees it, the process is “stacked against the dissenting landowner.”

As Ohio clamps down on clean energy, recent changes make it easier to force landowners to allow oil and gas drilling is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ATHENS, Ohio — A student-organized protest for Gaza on the Ohio University campus last week drew at least 200 participants, who briefly occupied a university building before marching to the College Green.

The protest, organized by the Ohio University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (aka Bobcats for Palestine), was one of dozens of college campus demonstrations occurring across the country. The protest began shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday evening at Bicentennial Park by Walter Hall, and concluded around 6:15 p.m. at Cutler Hall. 

The group is only around three months old, said Deika Ahmed, an OU senior studying marketing who serves as OUSJP’s media contact. 

Demonstrators at last week’s protest called for a ceasefire in the War on Gaza, an end to Palestinian genocide and for Ohio University to disclose and divest its investments in Israel. That would require state lawmakers to repeal Ohio Revised Code 9.76, which prohibits universities from divesting any portions of their investment portfolios in Israel. 

“We think [ORC 9.76] goes against our First Amendment rights,” OUSJP member Sophie Grubbs said in an email. “At this time, we do not have any more information about OU’s investments. We are going to research this during the summer!” 

Ahmed said the university’s contract with Coca-Cola is one example of its investment in Israel. The company has become a target of a pro-Palestinian boycotting because it operates a facility in Israel. 

Unlike many campus demonstrations elsewhere this spring, OU’s protest had no major or overt police presence, allowing the marchers to disperse peacefully. 

The university “connected in advance with its organizers to help ensure everyone involved could safely exercise their right to express their views while remaining aware that such activities should neither infringe on the rights of others nor disrupt University activities and operations,” OU spokesperson Daniel Pittman said in an email.

The protest culminated in a revolving occupation of Baker University Center. For several minutes demonstrators chanted, held signs and played instruments as they rode up all four floors of escalators, rode back down, exited the building and circled back around. 

Eventually, the demonstrators headed north on Court Street, entered through the Alumni Gateway on College Green and wrapped up outside of Cutler Hall. 

Although OUSJP organized the protest, community members of all ages participated in the demonstration. Organizers said that present were two medics and “security personnel,” who helped demonstrators cross streets safely and watch the demonstration’s perimeters.

Demonstrators held signs, wore keffiyehs, beat drums, and passed out water and snacks. Chants included “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” “Free, free Palestine,” and “OU, Divest.”

The protest also featured speakers both before and after the walk. At least two speakers were Jewish and spoke about their support for Palestine and personal relationships with Zionism. 

One speaker was Davey McNelly, who spoke before the walk through Baker. McNelly co-founded Athens’ Jewish Voices for Peace 5 years ago.

“As a Jewish person who grew up in southeastern Ohio, it’s sometimes rough – you can feel like you’re on your own here – but I do want to say, it’s definitely not anti-Semitic to call out Israel, to call out an apartheid state,” McNelly said. “These are our Jewish beliefs – that you stand up for what’s right.” 

Two counterprotesters drove past demonstrators while waving an Israeli flag from their vehicle. The duo later stood on the fourth floor of Baker and stood silently as protestors left the building to walk up Court Street.  

Athens City Council passes ceasefire resolution for Israel’s war on Gaza

Local activists have held several antiwar protests since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack in Israel, which launched a counteroffensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians — most of them women and children. 

They also have taken their cause to local governments: In February, against the advice of its law director, Athens City Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict. The village of Chauncey will decide this week whether to pass its own ceasefire resolution.

The post Hundreds demand university ‘disclose, divest’ investments in Israel appeared first on Athens County Independent.

ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will test well water for possible contamination after determining toxic waste from four fracking waste injection wells in eastern Athens County spread underground.

On March 27, about 50 people heard updates on the ODNR’s water testing plan and related issues at a town hall in Coolville organized by community members. The discussion at the town hall was lively, with community members frequently raising hands to ask questions and voice concerns.

“It makes me want to cry,” said Coolville resident Dawn Harman, who learned about possible contamination at the town hall. Harman told the Independent she moved to the area “to not have all that pollution and live in my 40 acres of woods.”

The ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management found last year that toxic fracking waste from four injection wells poses an “imminent danger” to health and the environment.

“While the division has received no reports of adverse effects to human health or safety associated with the implicated injection wells,” the division will hire a consultant to “conduct a groundwater study to ensure no evidence of adverse impacts to ground water can be found,” according to the division’s request for proposals.

“It’s not a good place to be … but it’s a better place to be than not having the investment in testing,” said Ohio University professor and groundwater expert Natalie Kruse Daniels at the Coolville town hall.

The division is evaluating bids from two consultants and “hopes to award a contract in the near future,” according to a March 26 statement Division Chief Eric Vendel shared with town hall organizer Roxanne Groff. 

One of the four injection wells at issue is a Rome Township well operated by Reliable Enterprises that the division suspended in May 2023. The next month, the division suspended the other three injection wells, operated by K&H Partners in nearby Torch.

While the Rome Township well permanently ceased operation after the ODNR’s suspension order, K&H fought its suspension vigorously. K&H appealed the division’s order both to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas and the quasi-judicial Ohio Oil and Gas Commission, which specifically hears these types of cases.

The Franklin County case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, while the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission heard arguments in the case in December 2023. Four months later, the commission has yet to issue a final decision.

The K&H wells have operated continuously without modification since October, when the commission allowed the company to continue operations throughout the appeal process.

Related reading from the Athens County Independent:

Local injection wells suspended over ‘imminent danger’ to drinking water

ODNR warns of ‘calamity’ as Torch injection wells resume operation pending appeal

Arguments heard in injection well suspension case

In a January post-hearing brief the division warned, “If K&H is allowed to continue operating the K&H Wells without modifications, critical freshwater in … Athens County could be irreparably destroyed.”

According to its water sample analysis plan, the division will test water from wells within a half mile of the four implicated injection wells and seven oil and gas production wells. 

The division previously concluded the seven production wells were impacted by underground migration of toxic fracking waste, known as brine. 

Data released by the Pennsylvania-based watchdog group FracTracker shows that at least two of the three K&H wells in question have been injected with waste containing polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. PFAs are linked to birth defects and increased risk of cancer.

Related reading from the Athens County Independent:

Torch fracking injection wells received waste containing ‘forever chemicals’ PFAS: data

ODNR data published by FracTracker shows fracking waste in Ohio contains radioactive waste as well. The radioactive compounds that ODNR found in fracking waste can remain in the environment for thousands of years and cause bone, liver and breast cancer.

The division’s consultant will test water from 33 water wells in Athens and Washington counties.

Kruse Daniels presented on the division’s water sample analysis plan at the Coolville town hall and said the database the division used to identify water wells “is a little hit or miss, but it’s a good starting point.”

Meanwhile, Groff, an environmental activist and former Athens County commissioner who presented at the townhall, said the division’s proposed area of review “doesn’t go far enough.” That’s because the division has found that brine spread further than a half mile from injection wells, she said.

The division found that brine from the Reliable Enterprises well impacted oil and gas production wells as far as 2 miles away, while brine from the K&H wells impacted production wells as far as 1.5 miles away. In a separate instance of brine migration in Washington County, the division found that brine spread even farther.

The division will primarily evaluate impacts to water supplies by testing for chloride concentrations and measurable bromide. If chloride concentrations and the ratio of chloride and bromide in the water surpass given thresholds, the division will recommend additional testing.

Groff told the Independent she doesn’t think the division’s proposed set of parameters for water sampling are sufficient.

Kruse Daniels, however, said at the town hall, “I can always say ‘sample for more’ — but I think actually what they laid out does make pretty good sense.”

ODNR media representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

Kruse Daniels said “the proof will be in the pudding in a lot of ways,” regarding the sufficiency of the division’s water testing.

“This is a single sample at a single time point, but what we understand is that how contaminants move in the environment is very time-based,” Kruse Daniels said. “When we look at how these things could move, we’re talking about — is it thousands of years, is it hundreds of years, is it tens of years? And a lot of those things we don’t know.”

Kruse Daniels said it will be important for the division to compare water parameters in the area over time.

The Division’s bidding process closed on March 15.

Once the division awards a contract, the consultant will have 90 days to conduct water testing and an additional 30 days to issue a final report, per the RFP.

In addition to discussing the division’s water testing plan, speakers at the town hall also discussed a petition to revoke Ohio’s regulatory authority over its underground injection program and Ohio’s history of underground injection well incidents.

Groff encouraged community members to contact their elected representatives in the Ohio Statehouse to share disapproval with Ohio’s current rules regulating injection wells.

“We have voices; we need to use them,” Groff said.

Elevating the voices of the people was part of why Groff and other activists organized the town hall, she said. 

“They don’t offer themselves to people,” Groff said, referring to the ODNR. “So the people have to organize themselves to have these meetings.”

The town hall was hosted by Torch Can Do, the Buckeye Environmental Network, the Ohio Brine Task Force and Athens County Future Action Network.

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