Ohio Shale Drillers Must Report Chemicals Locally
Ohio officials notified companies that a federal chemical disclosure law trumps a 2001 state law requiring that information regarding chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process only be filed with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, a law intended to centralize information. Now, beginning September 21, 2013, to comply with federal law, a list of toxic chemicals used by Ohio shale drillers must be made available locally to governments. The new reporting parameters follow an April letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which made clear that Ohio’s chemical reporting laws do not supersede federal right-to-know requirements.