Egypt Valley Wildlife Area Permit Approved

In news first reported by The Ohio Capital Journal and Cleveland.com, Ohio State officials voted Monday to award Gulfport Energy right to frack about 30 acres of the massive Egypt Valley Wildlife Area.

Members of the Oil and Gas Management Commission also initiated the process for additional fracking at Salt Fork State Park.

Gulfport was also selected for a five-acre strip of Ohio Department of Transportation Right-of-Way in Monroe County in Center Township near Woodsfield.

As has been the case with most meetings of the board, The public session was “noisy” with anti-fracking opponents protesting the move by the state.

The Ohio Capital Journal report noted, “in January 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Gulfport Energy Corp. for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at oil and gas wells in Ohio. Gulfport was required to pay a $1.7 million penalty and invest approximately $2 million in improvements at 17 well pads in eastern Ohio, according to the EPA.”