We are taking polluting corporations head on and holding agencies accountable to protect our health and the places we love from the reckless expansion of dirty, dangerous fossil fuels.
Fracking Ohio Public Lands Update and Taking Action:
Visit the link at the bottom below for the latest updates on potential drilling in Ohio public lands.
Ohio has the nation's largest population negatively impacted by oil and gas. The Ohio Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign works to limit and stop fracked gas and oil infrastructure. Our team is building a unified movement of volunteers and partners to take on the oil and gas industry and interrelated issues by centering fence-line and impacted communities. We are grounded in our organizational and team values to build relationships and uplift communities' voices to improve policy and shift the power structure into communities to build a democratic, transparent, thriving, and transformational future for all.
Take action with us to tell the U.S. EPA that Ohioans have had enough: no more radioactive waste in our communities!
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) - the state agency in charge of managing Ohio's class II injection well program - accepts on average 20-30 million barrels of radioactive oil and gas waste per year. This waste comes from fracked and conventional gas wells in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The Sierra Club Ohio Beyond Dirty Fuels Team is working to ensure these agencies are doing their job. Read about the petition filed with the U.S. EPA here.
Radioactive Oil and Gas Waste:
In Ohio, oil and gas drilling produces millions of barrels of toxic radioactive waste every year. The waste, both solid and liquid, is produced from unknown chemicals and water mixing with deep shale deposits miles below ground. The solid waste is brought back up to the surface before the well starts producing. The liquid waste is brought back to the surface during the entire life of the well.
Since 1985, the State of Ohio has allowed the radioactive liquid waste to be spread on roads for deicing and dust control. What happens to radioactive oil and gas waste when it is not being spread on roads?
The process:
- Ohio accepts on average 20-30 million barrels of radioactive oil and gas waste per year. This waste comes from fracked gas wells and conventional gas wells in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia (Figure 2).
- This waste is mostly disposed of in class II injection wells. These disposal wells are old oil wells, or new wells drilled just for injecting oilfield waste. These injection wells work because Ohio bedrock is full of cracks and faults and they leak.
These disposal wells are a threat to our health, our drinking water, fish and wildlife. Find out more here! If this seems like a bad idea, you are on the right track! Ohio’s 226 class II wells are located all over the state except in Southwest Ohio. See map of well locations below:
Radioactive Oil and Gas Spreading on Roads
For the third time, the Ohio Legislature is trying to help the oil and gas industry market their highly radioactive liquid waste or “brine” as a commodity. This would allow the harmful material to be sold in stores just like coffee or cereal, but also, WITHOUT warning labels. Ohio House Bill 282 and Ohio Senate Bill 171 would open the door to widespread sales for personal and commercial use on roads, sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots. Read more here!
Fracking, Petrochemicals and Plastic
Deep Shale Fracking began in Ohio in 2010, and a few years earlier in the region. Petroleum byproducts from the fracking process made the perfect feedstock for making plastics. Fifty percent of all plastics ever produced have been manufactured since 2000. At the same time, the oil and gas industry proposed the building of a new plastic petrochemical hub to be located in the Ohio River Valley to minimize the risk posed by hurricanes and climate change in the Gulf Coast. As gas prices are skyrocketing, there is a huge push to build new export terminals, and pipelines to get fracked gas and petroleum byproducts to world markets. Increased exports will worsen climate change, increase plastic production, and cause inflated gas prices to continue to rise.
To find out more about Petrochemicals click here.
Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) Infographic: Helpful information and visuals on the petrochemical industry
Ohio Statewide Plastics Campaign: Learn about our efforts in Ohio to combat plastic pollution
Additional Resources:
- Fractracker OH Map: View Ohio fracking wells
- Ohio Brine Task Force: Provides Brine spreading reports. The Brine Task Force is a group of thoughtful and committed Ohioans interested in stopping the hazardous practice of brine spreading in our communities.
- Glossary: Learn more about terms in the oil and gas industry
- How to write a Letter to the Editor for HB 282
- Connecting with your local official on HB 282
- National Beyond Dirty Fuels Page: Sierra Club National campaign page on oil and gas
Contact us if you would like more information about this campaign or would like to get involved!
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Shelly Corbin, Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Representative Ohio, shelly.corbin@sierraclub.org