COLUMBUS—Ohio Oil & Gas Association President Rob Brundrett released a statement that pushes back against a petition urging the United States EPA to revoke Ohio’s Class II injection well program:

“In 2015, the U.S. EPA under President Barack Obama performed an independent audit at the request of activists, which found that ‘Ohio runs a good quality program for Class II wells.’ Since then, the program has only gotten stronger and is more stringent than current federal requirements. Therefore, this petition is an ill-advised and unfounded attempt to give greater authority to a distant federal bureaucracy, rather than leave it in the hands of regulators who best understand our state.

“The Ohio Oil & Gas Association and its members treat the protection of our environment with utmost seriousness, and we go above and beyond to ensure our Class II injection program meets and exceeds the high standards set forth by the state’s governing agencies. The U.S. EPA should reject this petition, as it represents nothing more than federal government overreach into a program that has proven to be safe and effective. Our industry and members will continue to work with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to ensure these programs are meeting the needs of Ohioans and the environment, like we have been for the past 40 years since Ohio obtained primacy.”

Founded in 1947, OOGA is a statewide trade association, today serving about 1,300 members, including both small, independent conventional producers and large independent horizontal operators exploring Ohio’s shale play. The membership also consists of midstream companies, large-scale transmission line companies, contractors, oilfield service and supply providers, manufacturers, gas utilities and various other professional entities.