By TONI ELLINGTON
The Center for Biological Diversity (hereinafter “CBD”) recently filed suit against the U.S. Department of Interior and other federal agencies to stop fracking off the coast of California. The CBD argued in its lawsuit, CBD v. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-01189, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, that the Department of Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement merely “rubberstamp” oil company development plans for offshore drilling. According to the CBD, these federal agencies violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act by allowing fracking without analyzing the impact on ocean ecosystems, coastal communities, and marine wildlife.
Many of the oil companies had drilling development plans approved in the 1980s for drilling off the coast of California. According to the CBD, the companies never revised their plans once they decided to start drilling. The drilling plans of many companies do not mention hydraulic fracturing.
In other developments, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a ruling that the State of Ohio has sole authority over oil and gas permitting. The court determined that a city or town could not ban drilling approved by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. This ruling in State ex rel. Morrison, Law Dir.; The City of Munroe Falls v. Beck Energy Corp., et al., Slip Op. No. 2015-Ohio-485, issued on February 26, 2015, was a disappointment to some municipalities in Ohio which sought to ban fracking.
Many citizens in Ohio had raised concerns about fracking in their communities, alleging that fracking triggered small earthquakes and caused methane gas leaks. The City of Munroe Falls passed a municipal ordinance banning oil and gas drilling without a municipal permit.
For more information, stay tuned to this blog, or contact Toni Ellington at (504) 599-8500.
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