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Concerns Raised about Ohio Chemical Disclosure Bill

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Wednesday, December 3, 2014   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio Senate committee is expected to vote soon on a controversial bill about disclosure of chemicals used in oil and gas fracking operations.

A provision added to House Bill 490 requires drilling companies to report the substances they use to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Caitlin Johnson, lead organizer for Communities United for Responsible Energy, argued that would slow the transmission of crucial information in case of an emergency and said local emergency personnel need to know about potential hazards.

"They're just simply asking that our first responders have chemical information of what's being used in the drilling and fracking process," she said, "so if there is an accident, they can go in prepared to protect themselves and to protect communities."

Melissa English, development director for Ohio Citizen Action, said a chemical fire and subsequent spill at a well pad in Monroe County in June is just one example of the current problem of inadequate chemical disclosure. She said vital information wasn't provided to the Monroe County Emergency Management Administration until five days after the fire began.

"We saw in that incident the very thing that we had been warning against for two years, which is confusion on the part of first responders as to what chemicals they were dealing with," English said. "Communication was very poor. The Division of Oil and Gas did not even show up until days after."

English said information about hazardous-chemical use in other industries is maintained by the State Emergency Response Commission, which operates under the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. She said she doesn't think it should be any different for the fracking industry.

"The reason why this reporting exemption exists is to protect the oil and gas drillers from liability," she said. "The safety of our first responders, the safety of the public, and the health of our natural resources is more important."

According to ODNR, the database of chemical information would be available to the public on its website, enabling more efficiency and transparency. The state Senate Agriculture Committee is hearing testimony this week and a vote is anticipated next week.

Details of the legislation are online at legislature.state.oh.us.


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