Ohio Court Rules that Local Ordinance Cannot Prevent Hydraulic Fracturing

An Ohio state law was passed in 2004 that gave the State of Ohio sole and exclusive authority to regulate the location of oil and gas wells in the state.  Competing with this state law was a municipal ordinance that attempted to block drilling activities within Akron Ohio.  All this came to a head when Beck Energy Corporation received a state permit to drill a traditional well in the Akron suburb of Munroe Falls.

The city filed a lawsuit against Beck seeking an injunction to prevent Beck from drilling in Akron and alleged that Beck illegally violated the prohibitive local ordinance.  The trial court granted the injunction, but the court of appeals reversed.  In a 4-3 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals decision, disagreed with the city, and ruled that the city cannot block hydraulic fracturing or drilling with such a local ordinance.  According to the court, state law did not grant a city the power to discriminate against or unfairly impede oil and gas drilling activities that are expressly permitted by the state--only the state has the power to regulate the industry.

Text of case via Justia.

C. Michael Daily is an oil, gas, mineral law, and probate attorney with the long-established law firm of Daily & Woods, P.L.L.C. and is licensed to practice oil, gas, mineral, and probate law in Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Wyoming. Oil, gas and mineral law attorney C. Michael Daily can be contacted by telephone at 479-242-3953, by email at mdaily@dailywoods.com, or by regular post at 58 South 6th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72902.  

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