Gov. John Kasich’s executive order gives state gas and oil chief broad authority over injection wells

Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 7:30 PM

By John Funk, The Plain Dealer

Gov. John Kasich issued an executive order granting the state's oil and gas chief Rick Simmers czar-like authority over injection well permitting.

The order makes it clear that the governor wants the Department of Natural Resources to be more of a watchdog than merely a permit processor for the industry.

Simmers now has the authority to require a bevy of tests before a well is drilled and even after it is operational.

The new rules apply to all injection well applications, even those filed before Tuesday.

Under the order, Simmers can:

• Order seismic testing before an injection well is drilled and seismic monitoring afterward.

• Order an X-ray examination of the bottom of the well bore after it is drilled to look for faults in the bedrock.

An unseen fault in the rock under a Youngstown well late last year has been linked to the more than a dozen small earthquakes there. The state has kept that well off limits ever since the owner voluntarily stopped injecting brine.

To read the entire article go to: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/07/gov_john_kasichs_executive_ord.html

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