It is hard to talk about protecting our land and water when the people making the rules seem to be playing for the other team. You might have seen the headlines recently about State Senator Brian Chavez, a Republican from Marietta who is currently facing a serious ethics complaint. This situation hits close to home for anyone who cares about how decisions are made in Columbus, especially when those decisions involve the air we breathe and the water our families drink.
The details coming out of the Ohio Capital Journal and Allegheny Front are deeply concerning. The complaint, spearheaded by the community-led Washington County for Safe Drinking Water, alleges that Senator Chavez failed to properly disclose his financial ties and leadership roles in the oil and gas industry. Specifically, it points to his 2023 and 2024 financial disclosure statements, where he supposedly left out his positions and ownership in five different LLCs. One of the most notable names mentioned is DeepRock Disposal Solutions LLC, a company that deals with oil and gas waste.
This would be a red flag for any public official, but it is especially alarming because of the power Senator Chavez holds in the Statehouse. He currently chairs the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee. This is the exact group that oversees the fracking industry and decides how much oversight energy corporations actually face in our backyards.
The complaint alleges he used this position to fast-track Senate Bill 219, a piece of legislation that if it become law as currently passed by the Ohio Senate, will likely benefit Senator’s Chavez’s personal and/or family interests in the following ways: (1) local governments will be incentivized to accept fracking waste because money that would have originally gone to ODNR for operations will instead be sent to county general funds; (2) there remains no inflation related tax increase per barrel of injectate; (3) ODNR discretion to deny expedited drilling permit reviews, including wastewater injection wells, is mostly eliminated; and (4) the orphaned and abandoned wells closest to active injection wells that need to be plugged will be given priority over all other orphaned wells – benefiting injection well operators.
We are proud to stand with Washington County for Safe Drinking Water and more than a dozen other groups in supporting this effort. When a lawmaker is personally profiting from the same industry they are supposed to be regulating, it is impossible to feel like the health of our communities is coming first. We need to know that when a vote is cast, it is being done with the safety of our neighborhoods in mind, not the profit margins of a private business interest.
Transparency is the bedrock of a healthy community. The complaint is now in the hands of the Ohio Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, and we are going to be watching this investigation very closely. Our communities deserve a seat at the table that isn’t already bought and paid for. It is time to demand a system that puts people before corporate profits and requires total honesty from the folks who represent us. Let’s keep the pressure on and make it clear that our environment, our health, and our government are not for sale. Read the entire complaint, 51 exhibits, and letter of support by a group of Ohio-based organizations by clicking here.