Tiny Group Protests Fracking Under Ohio’s Salt Fork State Park

In early June, shale drillers could, for the first time, begin to apply for permits to drill under (not on top of) Ohio state lands and state parks under newly formulated rules established by the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management (OGLM) Commission (see Ohio State Lands Now Open for O&G Leasing – Virtual Ribbon-Cutting). In April, before the OGLM rules, Encino Energy made an offer to drill under Salt Fork State Park, located in Guernsey County, in a deal that could have netted the state a staggering $1.8 billion (see Encino Offered OH $1.8B Deal to Drill Under Salt Fork State Park). Ohio rejected the proposal (bad timing). However, Encino (presumably) is still interested, as Salt Fork was one of eight initial properties nominated for drilling deals (see 8 Ohio State Land Locations Nominated for Utica Shale Drilling). On July 1, a tiny "rally" was staged at Salt Fork State Park by protesters who want to block safe drilling under (not on) park-owned land.

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