"Frackgate": Ohio Regulators Planned to Subvert Eco-Groups, Promote Fracking in State Parks
A fracking scandal is unfolding in Ohio. Environmental groups and state lawmakers slammed Republican Gov. John Kasich and state regulators this week over internal documents that they say show the Kasich administration planned to collude with the oil and gas industry to publicly promote fracking in state parks while fending off criticism from a "Nixon-style enemies list" of state lawmakers and environmental groups
In 2012, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) outlined a broad public relations campaign for selling Ohioans on the benefits of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in two state parks. The 13-page "communication plan," which was uncovered by the Ohio Sierra Club, proposes that the ODNR enlist support from "allies" in the Kasich administration and the oil and gas industry and "marginalize the effectiveness of communications" of fracking opponents. The plan was never implemented.
The plan admits that the fracking initiative would "blur public perception of ODNR's regulatory role in oil and gas," which would "require precise messaging and coordination by ODNR."
A list of targeted "opposition groups" includes the Ohio Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, EcoWatch, Waterkeeper Alliance, Ohio FrackAction and two Democratic state lawmakers.
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http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/21957-frackgate-ohio-regulators-planned-to-subvert-eco-groups-promote-fracking-in-state-parks
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