COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two Democratic lawmakers want to block oil and natural gas drilling beneath Lake Erie and Ohio’s state parks, according to The Ohio Capital Journal.

State Reps. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, and Christine Cockley, D-Columbus, recently introduced House Bill 399, which would bar the Ohio Department of Natural Resources from issuing permits to extract oil or gas from under state parks or Lake Erie.

Rader told The Ohio Capital Journal that preserving public lands and protecting the environment are central to the bill. He said the legislation is meant to stop drilling before it can expand further into state parks.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law in 2023 allowing fracking in Ohio’s public lands and state parks. Fracking has already begun at Salt Fork State Park, the largest in the

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