With stroke of his pen, Gov. Mike DeWine defines natural gas as green energy
Law forces state to accept certain requests to drill for oil and gas in state parks.
www.cleveland.com
- Updated: Jan. 06, 2023, 6:30 p.m.|
- Published: Jan. 06, 2023, 5:20 p.m.
FILE - A crew works on a drilling rig at a well site for shale based natural gas in Zelienople, Penn. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)AP
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation that broadly expands the ability to drill for oil and gas in state parks and also legally redefines natural gas as a source of “green energy.”
A 2011 state law gave state agencies the authority, if they choose, to lease out state lands for oil and gas exploration and production. The bill signed by DeWine on Friday would change that language to say a state agency “shall” accept a lease that meets certain conditions, instead of saying it “may” do so. In other words, it forces an agency to grant the lease application from oil and gas drillers.
The term green energy typically refers to energy derived from the sun and wind, not fossil fuels. Natural gas is a fossil fuel released by digging into the earth that acts as a greenhouse gas via leakage during transport and when it’s combusted. Its main component is methane, a potent heat-trapping gas.
“Characterizing natural gas as green energy is regressive and a fallacy,” said Cinnamon Carlarne, the Robert J. Lynn Chair in Law at the Ohio State University. “Natural gas is not green energy. The labelling is a little bit Orwellian.”
DeWine said in a statement the legislation doesn’t “fundamentally change the criteria and processes” established in 2011. Additionally, he said his administration wouldn’t allow for any new surface use access in state parks. However, this could leave the door open to accessing minerals underneath state lands via surfaces of adjacent properties.
While natural gas produces a smaller carbon footprint than fuels like coal or oil, it produces a much heavier methane footprint, Carlarne said. DeWine’s policy against surface drilling is a positive, but fails to address the climate change or pollution problems with state policies expanding gas drilling.
Neil Waggoner, an advocate with the Sierra Club, largely agreed. He said the legislation will unmistakably expand drilling for resources in state parks.
Speaking to reporters on both Thursday and Friday morning, DeWine declined to comment on the gas bill. He announced his decision to sign it in an email just before 5 p.m. Friday.
“It’s so ridiculous,” Waggoner said. “Nothing says I’m ashamed of this bill like sending out the release at 4:48 p.m.”
Pete Bucher, interim president for the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) Action Fund, criticized the legislation as well, calling it an “egregious assault” on the public interest and our state parks.
“The bill also furthers fossil fuel misinformation campaigns designed to brand natural gas as ‘green energy,’ a nationwide effort to delay climate action and the transition to a truly clean energy future,” he said.
Ohio Oil and Gas Association President Rob Brundrett said in a statement released shortly after the bill signing that the bill will expand Ohio’s position as a leader in developing natural gas and oil resources.
In earlier interviews, Brundrett said the bill would force the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission to stop dragging its feet on approving rules for oil and gas drilling on state lands by requiring all state agencies to open up land they control to drilling until the commission puts such rules in place.
Senate Republicans added the natural gas provisions into a bill originally focused on poultry sales late at night on the second-to-last lawmaking day of the year. It passed both chambers with only Republican support.
