[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6350726,"mediaKeyId","2231821-22bbb6da269e2adc726e7254b2fb32d9","parentId",2231821,"title","ODNR: injection-well communication addressed; no confirmed impacts to groundwater reported","audioSeconds",69,"startMs",2653000,"endMs",2722000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2231821-22bbb6da269e2adc726e7254b2fb32d9&start=2653&end=2722","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2231821-22bbb6da269e2adc726e7254b2fb32d9/thumbnail_2653000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6350726/Ohio/ODNR-injection-well-communication-addressed-no-confirmed-impacts-to-groundwater-reported","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6350726-f62290acb146368f2e17177aed092c9e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771173633&Signature=XdefKehwjmYfG0ZsAcmplNWKpfRbqxAeEsVF9dYI4hYYix5tU5b-p6KGmWEVYu6spxZp6IiOzbypWTQbV0dbe4RJPv0PQJqYlVLeeIzw1w2F9W11RfDzPAtdFPDDFjQRAUihiPLDJMt~bygONmd5CSKAzrHQf0Zpe5Dz8yrbYlBza24EKHwrjCU4DP5-jKCKS1c~f0CPldSqxuDILyKqsWvtV~Z5dy5jYS5ZIF0YG-apH3lw13uD0i5QQAVEl1-lWCo3kYMxhiICfDDbIREufBxx7Weg3hDtHQHtLufJftir-8GIyR5bgO6H5ERIpQe-ytePGTpjgMtR3HJJULfLig__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Ohio Legislature","date","2025-01-05T00:00:00Z","article","Representative Rogers asked for a status update on an injection-well leak reported last summer.

Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said the department identified instances where injection wells “communicated underground” and that some wells were asked to shut down. She said ODNR has adjusted requirements in certain formations — including how deep injections must go — and that the department is not aware of any cases where those underground movements have affected groundwater or drinking water.

Mertz said ODNR continues to monitor subsurface conditions, has changed operational depth requirements in certain formations and has not observed subsequent similar problems since those modifications. The committee did not take formal action on the matter during the hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Ohio House Natural Resources Committee - 1-5-2025","oneSentenceSummary","In response to a committee question, ODNR said some injection wells communicated underground last summer, prompting shutdowns and changes to injection depth; the department reported no known impacts to groundwater or public drinking water.","taxTitle","Energy and Natural Resources, House of Representatives, Committees, Legislative, Ohio","taxId",37264,"location","Ohio","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6350731,"Representatives press ODNR on park safety, tourism impact and Adena Mansion partnership",374,1990000,2364000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2231821-22bbb6da269e2adc726e7254b2fb32d9&start=1990&end=2364","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2231821-22bbb6da269e2adc726e7254b2fb32d9/thumbnail_1990000.jpg","/articles/6350731/Ohio/Representatives-press-ODNR-on-park-safety-tourism-impact-and-Adena-Mansion-partnership","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6350731-ac78b8fc58731a71a77c4c2c631c6570/orig.mp4?Expires=1771173633&Signature=eVnTnAy3l4ohS~t-UJeqAeeph1Y6sKY8j6ylObhhl2pHRhEi7Oz~o-ZR~62-7Yo249G3i4x~9VfK7NPFIow9FvCnyK5BdTi9N8TVeAnF2DczG8BF1~SZAs7-v3pdtFAzuiDRPy06o8SBiG7dFFosIrbChH9sLcftGmvzTi~sK87~lBKPKjfbvNyha9gU17WsMhlPUJHSuNySJ-4EIMkVUIIvLiFQ1muw5kIR8AqVKDHSsf6ZSgmWzuspkPmksaW~iL01goYzh62AZBcgeyHu6MkQCFktwdkzaSvmve7R8Vdf7aTrqscmp9bAToovCRbm3VJSa2jGmw3v1C5i4hXa~w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Johnson and other committee members pressed the Ohio Department of Natural Resources on safety and local impacts from high visitation at Hocking Hills and other parks, and on whether ODNR could take a more active role in managing Adena Mansion and related Great Seal State Park assets.

Johnson said Hocking Hills draws heavy weekend visitation and cited strain on volunteer fire and rescue services, limited ranger presence and parking and shuttle challenges. He asked how ODNR could better fund safety services and aid local responders. Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said parks and wildlife divisions are the largest employer groups within the agency and acknowledged the challenge: “There are never enough. That's one of the number one comments we get from folks. Hey. How come I never see an officer? And we've been trying very hard to increase those ranks in the last few years.” She noted the department added 24 additional officers in the past biennium and described ongoing efforts to equip and deploy field staff.

On economic impact, Mertz said Maumee Bay State Park hosts a major birding event that draws large numbers and that the department has commissioned economic-impact analyses; she offered to provide figures to the committee during the budget hearing. Mertz emphasized parks as economic drivers in all regions and said ODNR’s capital investments — for example, cabin and visitor-center construction at Jesse Owens State Park and campground upgrades in Appalachia — are intended to increase visitation and local spending.

Representative Johnson raised Adena Mansion (also referenced as the Adena/Great Seal site), currently managed by the Ohio History Connection. Johnson suggested ODNR might assume caretaking responsibilities for better day-to-day maintenance. Mertz said ODNR has experience maintaining historic properties — citing Marblehead Lighthouse and Malabar Farm as examples — and that either ODNR or the Ohio History Connection could manage the property effectively if provided sufficient resources. She recommended a joint assessment between ODNR and the Ohio History Connection to estimate what “it would take to run it the right way.”

The committee made no formal decision but the chair said members will continue the conversation with ODNR staff in follow-up sessions and during the agency’s budget review.","Committee members raised concerns about visitor safety, local search-and-rescue burdens and partnerships for historic property management; Director Mary Mertz described capacity constraints, existing partnerships, and said resource constraints — not capability — are the central issue.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6350736,"ODNR says well-plugging pace ramping up; officials cite contractor capacity as a constraint",150,1838000,1988000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2231821-22bbb6da269e2adc726e7254b2fb32d9&start=1838&end=1988","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2231821-22bbb6da269e2adc726e7254b2fb32d9/thumbnail_1838000.jpg","/articles/6350736/Ohio/ODNR-says-well-plugging-pace-ramping-up-officials-cite-contractor-capacity-as-a-constraint","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6350736-e5a3df90cccb3decd44801b5ee9cb5a7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771173633&Signature=ErFKkoYpFFKtR3Ke9vgSYhSuydpil8Ry8paG34RH4oMTXslL7~STwkwW70T7gcYi27-clCK8obMUuBh7dcU2QJ5k0MZ91V1wgj6PF~VrcjrUFjXbQkESXnAGv61Q5ogXIQNOhvADzsN6nvmauGwueZCFCnptOVcK2C7f98tIbdlbMO2-s34zqDE4UtXcQqZkhHadBN3cd~jsGDV3I~ZU1OnmBuglH6waZTjcGb-FAwIJsKHh9fv0afNo3sYzyQj86HqFMHULBptPYCbEDVL2JWfy~4C57r2paRQvkVWikayAyZ~0tVWWPbz~KJCA7cEm0KCdxGa1kv4d4hb~FYxmrw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Raider asked for details on the state’s orphan-well plugging program during the committee meeting on Oct. 12, 2025.

Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said the state previously plugged roughly “20, 50 a year” but “last year, we plugged over 400 wells.” She said the increase followed legislative direction and additional funding that built a larger available balance in the severance tax fund, which she described as having built up “somewhere in the neighborhood of $250,000,000.”

Mertz said the department has struggled to scale work partly because of the number of qualified contractors available for well-plugging. “One of the problems is the number of contractors we have dedicated to this work,” she said, adding ODNR is trying to “make it easier for them to comply with state requirements while still making sure they're qualified.”

The director told the committee ODNR set an internal goal of 500 plugs for the current year and said the department would like to increase capacity further over time, “I'd love someday to get up to a thousand wells a year,” she said, while noting it would be a multi-decade effort. Mertz also said the department anticipates receiving “over $600,000,000 in state and federal funding between now and 2035,” but she cautioned federal funding timing is uncertain.

On prioritization, Mertz said statute requires the state to focus on public safety when selecting wells for plugging and that ODNR has some flexibility to bundle nearby wells for efficiency.

Representative Raider asked specifically how the department planned to spend existing severance funds that had accumulated; Mertz said the department has increased its contracting and outreach to expand capacity and that the program is now bidding on larger packages of wells to improve efficiency.

The committee did not take formal action on the well-plugging program during the meeting; Mertz framed the ramp-up as an ongoing operational priority.","Director Mary Mertz told the committee ODNR increased well-plugging from roughly dozens per year to over 400 last year and aims for 500 this year, citing contractor availability and a statutory public-safety prioritization as key factors.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6350741,"Ohio Department of Natural Resources presents agency overview to House Natural Resources Committee",1682,244000,1926000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2231821-22bbb6da269e2adc726e7254b2fb32d9&start=244&end=1926","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2231821-22bbb6da269e2adc726e7254b2fb32d9/thumbnail_244000.jpg","/articles/6350741/Ohio/Ohio-Department-of-Natural-Resources-presents-agency-overview-to-House-Natural-Resources-Committee","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6350741-63a1b19ffc243dda2c231c4286cd9b98/orig.mp4?Expires=1771173633&Signature=N9rBvqWOSy-gJ9jrtZ2aPvoR-Qkhl~ytJZzx6FfIgyPfSLqyF0oE2LJZIc0goyxdMims4SbwznsOIRSVa0EmUji3mp27W03-Zt-t7F1cTNdJW8zn4t4THRSIp1hC60f0XCsNvVsLFb5tUybiHftItm3fAuTdQukXG3zFuxdHs9NCMJwyqdAdmnMRfNzm6wugaQEySjZfsvodxc0cja80mls2HhvYYAnduWki1mTrxhzTuNOYiJaVXdKtAV9qxgo~Rglw2jo8RsI8Zp8heJbCp5sGlr4Fw5coRfYRGAc67wk7G45eK9HOqpKZz5q~2KkZiao1pDcEpS74W5PeUmHSIw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, gave a broad overview of the agency’s operations and priorities at the House Natural Resources Committee on Oct. 12, 2025.

Mertz told the committee ODNR “consists of 11 different divisions” and employs “something over 2,500, 2,600 people at the height of our seasons.” She described the agency as a land-holding entity that manages 76 state parks, 24 state forests, 147 nature preserves and 189 wildlife areas, and said the department’s statutory duty is to “ensure a balance between the wise use and the protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all.”

The overview summarized core programs and recent activity. Mertz said ODNR recorded more than one million overnight stays on agency properties in 2024 and operates more than 9,300 campsites and 10 state park lodges. The department issued roughly 850,000 fishing licenses and 360,000 hunting licenses last year; it reported 630,000 active watercraft registrations, including about 330,000 paddle craft registrations. ODNR operates six fish hatcheries that stocked “over 46,000,000 fish just last year,” Mertz said.

Mertz outlined key divisions and functions: parks and watercraft; wildlife (including fish hatcheries and wildlife officers); natural areas and preserves; forestry (including urban foresters and wildfire crews); coastal management on Lake Erie; the geological survey; engineering; real estate and land management; oil and gas permitting and oversight; mineral resources (coal and industrial minerals); and water resources management (dams, levees and floodplain work). She noted the parks and wildlife divisions represent the majority of the agency’s employees and public-facing work.

The director highlighted several programs and initiatives. H2Ohio, included in the governor’s budget, funds natural-infrastructure projects to filter phosphorus and improve rivers; Mertz said ODNR has more than 200 H2Ohio projects completed or underway in the last five years. She also described capital investments in southeastern Ohio at Jesse Owens State Park and the Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area — including cabins, campground upgrades, a visitor center and an expanded trail system that will include a planned 33-mile loop incorporating portions of the Buckeye Trail.

Mertz discussed interagency coordination, including permitting work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the geological survey’s long-running research and rock-core collections. On personnel, she said the department added 24 natural resource officers in the past biennium and has been focusing on training and equipment for field staff.

The presentation concluded with Mertz saying ODNR will return to the committee with resource requests during the agency’s upcoming budget hearing.

Mertz delivered the presentation to Chairman Jones, Vice Chair Blaisdale and members of the committee and answered follow-up questions from several representatives.","Director Mary Mertz told the House Natural Resources Committee that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources manages extensive lands and programs statewide, outlined 11 divisions, and highlighted visitor, licensing and staffing statistics as the agency prepares budget requests.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

ODNR: injection-well communication addressed; no confirmed impacts to groundwater reported

Representatives press ODNR on park safety, tourism impact and Adena Mansion partnership

ODNR says well-plugging pace ramping up; officials cite contractor capacity as a constraint

Ohio Department of Natural Resources presents agency overview to House Natural Resources Committee