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Fracking Opponents Call for ODNR Chief to Resign
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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- A coalition of environmental and citizen groups opposed to the use of hydraulic fracturing is demanding that the director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, James Zehringer, resign his position immediately.
Fourteen organizations, including FrackFree Mahoning Valley and the Guardians of Mill Creek Park, endorsed a letter sent Monday to Zehringer, and released to the press, which calls on him to resign because of what they say is a "planned, strategic initiative to quash public dissent and concern for the economic and environmental damage caused by fracking."
The letter comes in the wake of an ODNR draft plan uncovered several weeks ago that laid out the agency's communications strategy to address expected criticism over the state's plan to exercise drilling rights at two state parks and a state forest.
The ODNR draft plan, dated Aug. 20, 2012, outlines the state's position relative to the oil and gas industry and the measures it would take to launch a public relations campaign to curry support for leasing land in Sunfish State Forest in Monroe County, Barkcamp State Park in Belmont County, and Wolf Run State Park in Noble County.
But a spokesman for Gov. John R. Kasich said Feb. 19 that the governor no longer supports horizontal drilling on public lands. The policy reversal "came the same day Democratic lawmakers called for an investigation of a marketing plan to promote fracking on state lands that was put together a year and a half ago by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which regulates oil and gas drilling, reported The Columbus Dispatch (READ STORY).
The ODNR plan identifies groups and state legislators that are opposed to drilling on protected land, claiming that they will attempt to "legally and physically" halt drilling and try to induce "public panic about perceived health risks posed by the oil & gas industry."
In response, a coalition of opponents of the industry is accusing ODNR of compiling an "enemies list" of those who have publicly stated their opposition to drilling and the practice of hydraulic fracturing, a process that injects sand, water and chemicals into a well at high pressures to free oil and gas that is trapped in tightly packed shale rock.
"The overly hyped mischaracterization of respected grassroots citizen groups and environmental organizations as 'extremist groups' rather than normal Ohio citizens expressing our legitimate and genuine concerns shows that the ODNR is no longer an agency fit to regulate," the letter says.
Instead, the agency is busy using taxpayer dollars for public relations purposes designed to discredit opponents of the industry and promote oil and gas exploration, the letter says.
"It was offensive to receive verification of what we had suspected all along: that the state is using our tax dollars to plan public relations strategies, propaganda campaigns and targeted tactics against we, the people, to promote a single industry," the letter continues.
The groups are also urging an investigation by the state's inspector general to ascertain what role, if any, Gov. John Kasich played in formulating the communications plan and the state's relationship with the oil and gas industry.
"We call on you to take responsibility for the sale of your office to the gas lobbyists, and resign now," the letter says to Zehringer.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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