Staff report

COLUMBUS

A lawsuit was filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court against Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for the approval of at least 23 fracking-waste handling, storage, processing and recycling facilities to operate.

The facilities were authorized by ODNR “Chief’s Orders,” bypassing the official rule-making process required to permit such facilities, according to a press release from the Fresh Water Accountability Project, which along with Food and Water Watch brought the suit.

“I do not know what it takes to get our governing bodies to take action to protect Ohio’s environmental and economic future. These facilities are an imminent threat to public health,” Lea Harper, managing director of FWAP, said in a statement.

“The ODNR has unlawfully moved forward to approve these facilities without the input of the public, which these rules are intended to protect in the first place,” Alison Auciello of Food and Water Watch said in a statement.

Bethany McCorkle, an ODNR spokeswoman, said the ODNR doesn’t comment on pending litigation.