Bill > HB399

This bill amends Ohio law to explicitly prohibit the removal of oil or natural gas from under Lake Erie and state parks. Specifically, the bill modifies existing regulations by preventing the director of natural resources or any other state authority from issuing permits, leases, or granting any authorization for oil and gas extraction in these protected areas. The legislation updates section 1505.07 of the Revised Code to add specific language preventing oil and gas removal from Lake Erie's bed, and creates a new section 1509.023 that similarly prohibits oil and gas extraction from state parks. While the existing law already allowed permits for removing other minerals like sand, gravel, and stone from Lake Erie, this bill specifically targets and blocks oil and natural gas extraction in these environmentally sensitive locations. The bill maintains the director of natural resources' authority to issue permits for other mineral extractions and to create rules for administering these restrictions, but creates a clear prohibition on oil and gas removal in Lake Erie and state parks.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb399