BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio – A beloved southeast Ohio wildlife refuge may be on track to become the largest fracking site on public land in state history.
An unnamed natural gas company has filed four applications seeking to open more than 8,300 acres of Egypt Valley Wildlife Area in Belmont County to oil and gas drilling, according to Signal Ohio.
Combined with roughly 4,400 acres the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission already approved for development in January, the project could affect a substantial portion of the 18,000-acre preserve.
Currently, the commission’s largest approved project covers 6,600 acres at Salt Fork State Park.
Egypt Valley stretches across Belmont and Guernsey counties near Piedmont Lake and draws visitors for hunting and fishing. The land was once strip mined before being reclaimed and set aside for conservation.
Environmental groups like Save Ohio Parks have voiced their objection to the fracking proposal.
The public has until April 27 to comment before commissioners decide whether to approve leasing the land for drilling.
For more information, see Signal Ohio.
