A billion gallons of water and 278M in cash Obscure Ohio watershed district hints at future of fracking state parks

UHRICHSVILLE, Ohio – While a new state law just opened the door to fracking in state parks, agency reports show a little-known state body has leased out more than 31,000 acres of its land in oil and gas drilling deals under several pristine lakes and reservoirs in Southeast Ohio over the last decade. The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) earned a towering $278 million in leases and royalty payments between 2011 and 2022, selling rights to drill for fossil fuels under some of Ohio’s most beautiful attractions, like Tappan Lake. In that time, it has sold 1.2 billion gallons of…