COLUMBUS, Ohio —Gov. John R. Kasich today signed Executive Order 2012-03K instituting an emergency rule giving the state's Division of Industrial Compliance exclusive jurisdiction over the construction of shale gas processing plants in Ohio. "With many companies preparing to build new, shale-related processing facilities in the very near future, this executive order will allow the work of the plans examiners and Building Code Compliance to begin immediately," the governor's office said in a statement.
Because the product processed by these facilities -- Utica shale gas located thousands of feet below the surface -- crosses manmade borders of various municipalities, "the Division of Industrial Compliance is uniquely qualified to manage these projects in a consistent and uniform way statewide," the announcement said. "Previously, construction plans would be submitted either to the Division of Industrial Compliance or to a local building authority, where one exists, and the appropriate authority would oversee the project through its completion. Moving jurisdiction to the state provides the benefits of consistency, expertise, speed and enhanced safety, with no loss to local authorities. Construction beyond the processing plant would still fall under the local building authority, where one exists."
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.