Urban Drilling


ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management - Oil and Gas

Additional Resources:

Division of Geological Survey

FracFocus (joint project of GWPC & IOGCC)

Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission

US Army Corps of Engineers

Ground Water Protection Council

Ohio Oil and Gas Association

Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program

Ohio Public Utilities Commission

Map to Our Offices:
Fountain Square, Building H-3

Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

For general information email your questions here.

Public Record Requests can be emailed or directed to (614) 265-6901.

Columbus Address:
Mineral Resources Management
2045 Morse Rd.
Building H-3
Columbus, OH 43229-6693
(614) 265-6633
Fax H-2 (614) 265-7999
Fax H-3 (614) 265-7998

MRM logo

The major focus of HB 278/299 gives the division sole authority in Ohio for permitting and citing of oil and gas wells and production facilities.

Application Information
Applicants filing for a drilling permit should note the Application for a Permit (Form 1) contains two items, #24 and #25, that pertain to drilling within an urbanized area.

An urbanized area can be determined by checking the 2010 Census information provided:

Ohio population by city, township and village (.xls) (.pdf)
Ohio population by places within county (.xls) (.pdf)
Ohio non-urbanized areas by county (.xls) (.pdf)
Ohio urbanized areas by county (.xls) (.pdf)

Urbanized Area Drilling Permit Fees
Permit fees for urban areas and non-urban areas are not the same. Permit fees for applications to drill new urban wells are as follows. These fees do not apply to revised drilling units, re-issues of permits already issued and plug-backs.

$1,000 for all municipal corporations regardless of population
$1,000 for a township with a population exceeding 15,000
$750 for a township with a population of 10,000 to 14,999
$500 for a township with a population of 5,001 to 9,999

Rules for Urban Area Applications

1501:9-1-01 General Provisions (pdf)
1501:9-1-02 Permits (pdf)
1501:9-1-04 Spacing of Wells (pdf)
1501:9-1-07 Prevention of Pollution and Contamination (pdf)
1501:9-9-03 Drilling and Deepening Operations (pdf)
1501:9-9-05 Producing Operations (pdf)

Best Management Practices for Oil and Gas Companies and Related Contractors

Best Management Practices for Oil and Gas Well Site Construction (pdf)
General guidelines for the proper planning, construction and restoration of well sites, access roads and other disturbed land to help reduce soil loss due to oil and gas production activities and limit water quality degradation due to sediment delivery to streams and lakes.
Best Management Practices for Pre-Drilling Water Sampling (pdf)
Summarized procedures and protocol to ensure proper collection of required water well samples and data.
- Water Sampling Collection Form (pdf)
- Water Sampling Collection Form (xls)