Midwest

Ohio commission awards bids to frack oil and gas under state parks, wildlife areas

Published

2 years ago

February 27, 2024

$Ohio commission awards bids to frack oil and gas under state parks, wildlife areas$

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio commission awarded bids to frack oil and gas under state parks Monday, despite statewide backlash and an ongoing investigation into possibly fraudulent support.

The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission granted the mineral rights to several oil and gas companies, allowing them to frack for oil and gas under land owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Transportation, including state parks and designated wildlife areas.

RFK JR’S VOW TO BAN FRACKING MET WITH INTENSE CRITICISM

The Texas-based Encino Energy Partners was granted the rights to frack under Valley Run Wildlife Area and Zepernick Wildlife Area. The West Virginia-based Infinity Natural Resources, LLC, can frack under Salt Fork State Park. These and other entities are now cleared to receive leases from the state and must discuss permits and other details with state regulators.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will receive $59.7 million in bonuses under the fracking leases and each lease includes a 12.5% royalty paid to the state for production.

Protesters pack a meeting of the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission in Columbus, Ohio on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. The commission awarded bids to frack for oil and under public land Monday, including state parks and designated wildlife areas, to several oil and gas companies.

Fracking is a technique used to extract natural gas or oil from impermeable rock formations. Water, chemicals and sand are blasted into these formations at pressures high enough to crack the rock, which allows trapped gas and oil to flow to the surface.

The department said in an emailed statement that the leases include provisions such as water quality testing and restricted drilling times.

Commission chair Ryan Richardson also emphasized at the Monday meeting that according to the language in the awarded leases, no surface areas of the parks would be disturbed by drilling as it would occur underground and the well pads would be offsite.

Richardson did not make herself available for comment Monday.

Protesters filled the meeting room as they have consistently since last year, when nominations for the land to be fracked were first discussed. Many cried “shame,” and held signs in front of the meeting’s livestream cameras. Some had makeup on their faces to appear diseased and wore sacks with signs that read “disease” and “drought” among other effects of climate change.

The commission has faced multiple legal challenges, including an appeal brought by Earthjustice, a nonprofit that helps litigate environmental issues. The organization filed it in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas last year, on behalf of advocacy groups including the Ohio Environmental Council and Save Ohio Parks, among others.

The groups were appealing the state’s decision to open up the land to bids last November, arguing that the commission did not follow the bidding process outlined in state law and violated the state’s open meetings requirements.

But a Franklin county judge said that the groups lacked authority to bring the appeal in the first place and dismissed the appeal Friday.

“Climate change is real, and it is here,” Save Ohio Parks’ steering committee said in a statement. “Salt Fork State Park, Valley Run Wildlife Area, and Zepernick Wildlife Area are just the first to come under attack. Save Ohio Parks will continue advocating to protect our public lands.”

Fracking opponents decried the commission as being “sheep” and giving in to corporate greed at the expense of Ohio greenspace. They also say the commission lacks transparency, as there have been no public hearings on the bids and they didn’t know who was bidding on the land, despite the lands being taxpayer funded.

State law mandates that the entities who nominated the land for fracking and those that bid on the land must remain anonymous until the bidding process is complete. The amounts that companies paid for land mineral rights was not immediately disclosed.

Opponents have also criticized the commission for continuing the process amid an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General’s office into possibly fraudulent letters sent in support of fracking.

A Cleveland.com investigation last fall found that over a hundred Ohio residents said their names were attached to form letters sent to the commission in a public comment period without their knowledge — all of them urging state parks to allow fracking.

The letters could be traced back to multiple pro-oil entities, including Consumer Energy Alliance, a Texas-based pro-oil and gas organization. The alliance has denied collecting names without permission and has called Cleveland.com’s coverage of the situation “libelous.”

“CEA has cooperated fully with the Attorney-General’s Office at every step. While the situation is ongoing, we can make no further comment,” Bryson Hull, a spokesperson for the alliance, said in an emailed statement.

A spokesperson for the Ohio Attorney General’s office said they are still completing the investigation and will make information available “at the appropriate time.”

Read the full article from Here

North Dakota

1 dead in southwestern North Dakota crash Friday

Published

3 minutes ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

1 dead in southwestern North Dakota crash Friday

BOWMAN COUNTY, N.D. — A 67-year-old Bowman, North Dakota, man is dead following a crash in southwestern North Dakota Friday morning, July 3.

According to a North Dakota Highway Patrol news release, at approximately 8:45 a.m. Friday, a 2019 Dodge Ram 1500, driven by the Bowman man, was traveling westbound on Highway 12 near mile marker 30, west of Bowman. The man experienced a suspected medical incident, causing the vehicle to leave the roadway to the left and enter the south ditch, the release said.

The vehicle continued westbound through the ditch, where the front of the vehicle struck a tree. After the impact, the vehicle traveled onto a gravel frontage road before coming to rest in the ditch. The man was transported by Bowman Ambulance Service to Bowman Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The man was wearing his seat belt.

The crash remains under investigation by the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

Source link

Ohio

Severe storms bring downed trees, power outages across Northeast Ohio

Published

8 minutes ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

Severe storms bring downed trees, power outages across Northeast Ohio

NORTHEAST OHIO (WOIO) – Thousands are without power Friday after severe weather sweeps across Northeast Ohio counties, creating weather-related damage.

FirstEnergy reports more than 71,000 in Northeast Ohio are without power Friday night.

More than 22,000 are without power in Cuyahoga County.

The utility company reports that more than 700 are without power in Erie County.

Lake County reports over 1,000 outages, and Portage has over 4,000 outages.

Trumbull County is experiencing over 1,000, and Ashtabula reports over 3,000.

Lorain County is experiencing more than 3,000 reported outages, and Geauga County has more than 7,000.

Medina County reported more than 1,000.

Chardon fire crews field wave of storm calls

The Chardon Fire Department shared the calls it responded to concerning storm damage Friday evening.

Fire crews said they responded to a tree in a house at 127 Burlington Oval.

The department said a tree fell on a gas line, causing a gas leak at 408 Charleston Avenue.

Wires were reported down on South Claridon Road, closing State Route 44 near South Street.

Wires were reported down on a house near Irma and South Hambden.

Fire crews said a tree was reported down on a home at 306 North Hambden.

The department also said alarms went off at UH Geauga Hospital.

Downed wires also closed Auburn and Twing roads.

The department said power was out on the south side of Chardon City.

Another tree was reported to have fallen into a house at 109 Burlington Oval, but no injuries were reported.

Fire crews said an incident involving a tree in a house and electric lines was reported at 11396 Aquilla Road, but no injuries were reported.

Fallen tree takes out power line in Independence

The city of Independence said a downed tree took out a live power line on lower Stone Road.

The city asked the public to avoid the area because of the danger posed by live wires.

The city said FirstEnergy had been notified and both police and firefighters were on scene.

Downed wires prompt closures across Hambden

The Hambden Fire Department said Friday night it was dealing with multiple storm-related incidents.

Crews said Claridon Troy Road was closed between Route 608 and Chardon Windsor Road because of downed poles and wires.

Kenny Drive was closed south of Leaders Mobile Home Park because of downed wires across the road, according to fire crews.

Multiple wires were reported down on Route 6 near Cutts and Grant Street along the north side of the road.

The department said the public should use caution in areas with downed wires and poles and should not attempt to move any of the wires.

Anyone with an electrical emergency or who encounters downed wires is asked to call 9-1-1.

Hambden Fire said people should not call 9-1-1 to report an outage.

The department said FirstEnergy is aware of these issues and is working to fix them.

Check FirstEnergy’s, AEP’s, and Cleveland Public Power’s websites for the latest outage numbers.

These outages come after severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for multiple Northeast Ohio counties this evening and were extended until 10:45 p.m.

SEND PHOTOS & VIDEO: Share your content with 19 News, and you may see it on TV or online.

Check back with the 19 News First Alert Weather team for the latest weather forecast.

Source link

South Dakota

SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for July 3, 2026

Published

37 minutes ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at July 3, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from July 3 drawing

05-09-29-47-57, Mega Ball: 16

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 3 drawing

07-08-24-42-47, Bonus: 03

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link