Chapter 1505 | Division Of Geological Survey

Section 1505.01 | Division of geological survey.

• Effective: September 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

The division of geological survey:

(A) Shall collect, study, and interpret all available information pertaining to the geomorphology, stratigraphy, paleontology, mineralogy, and geologic structure of the state and shall publish reports on the same;

(B) Shall collect, study, and interpret all available data pertaining to the origin, distribution, extent, use, and valuation of mineralogical and geological raw materials and natural resources such as: clays, coals, building stones, gypsum, salt, limestones, dolomite, aggregates, sand, gravel, shales, oil, natural gas, brines, molding sands, and other natural substances of use and value, excluding only those pertaining to water usable as such for agricultural, industrial, commercial, and domestic purposes, but not excluding other rock fluids such as natural and artificial brines and oil-well fluids;

(C) Shall make special studies and reports of resources of geological nature within the state that in its discretion are of current or potential economic, environmental, or educational significance or of significance to the health, welfare, and safety of the public;

(D) May examine the technological processes by which mining, quarrying, or other extracting processes may be improved, or by which materials now uneconomical to exploit may be extracted and used commercially for the public welfare;

(E) Shall make, store, catalog, and have available in perpetuity data, maps, diagrams, records, rock cores, samples, profiles, and geologic sections portraying the geological characteristics and topography of the state, both of general nature and of specific localities;

(F) May advise, consult, or collaborate with representatives of agencies of the state, other state governments, or the United States government on problems or issues of a geological nature;

(G) Shall advise, consult, or collaborate with representatives of agencies of the state, other state governments, or the United States government on problems or issues of a geological nature when requested by such an agency or government;

(H) May create custom maps, custom data sets, or other custom products for government agencies, colleges and universities, and persons;

(I) May provide information on the geological nature of the state to government agencies, colleges and universities, and persons.

Section 1505.02 | Chief of the division.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The chief of the division of geological survey may:

(A) Negotiate and enter into contracts with agencies of the United States government or any other public or private agency or individual for the performance of portions of the prescribed duties of the division or for the prosecution of co-operative projects within the assigned duties of the division;

(B) Receive, in behalf of the state, gifts of specimens, instruments, and equipment, or of published or unpublished documents or manuscripts, or of money in appreciation of services rendered in connection with work of public nature, to enlarge or expedite the prescribed work of the division;

(C) Enter, either in person or by assistants, upon lands, private or public, in the necessary discharge of his prescribed duties.

Section 1505.03 | Authority of chief.

• Effective: May 3, 1990
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 550 - 118th General Assembly

The chief of the division of geological survey may investigate, survey, interpret, and report matters relating to the geological or mineralogical conditions of the state, or technologies pertaining to them, and may accept and retain geological records on a confidential basis, so that industry, commerce, education, public health, and recreation may be advanced.

Section 1505.04 | Duty to keep well logs.

• Effective: September 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

(A) Any person, firm, government agency, or corporation who, for hire, or by its own forces for economic use or exploration, drills, bores, or digs within the state a well for the production or extraction of any gas or liquid, excluding only water to be used as such, but including natural or artificial brines and oil-filled waters, or who drills, bores, or digs within the state a well to explore geological formations, shall keep a careful and accurate log of the activity and report the same together with the results of any rock or fluid analyses or of any production or pressure tests in such form as is designated by the division of geological survey to the chief of the division of geological survey.

(B) The division may file such well logs and establish and observe such regulations regarding their availability and use as will meet the legitimate requirements of the owner or lessee of the well. Personnel of the division may examine any such well during its construction to confirm the accuracy of the log and to collect samples of the cores, chips, fluids, gases, or sludge.

(C) No person, firm, agency, or corporation shall fail to keep an accurate log or file a report as required in division (A) of this section.

Section 1505.05 | Rules regarding fee schedules.

• Effective: December 19, 2016
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 471 - 131st General Assembly

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, the chief of the division of geological survey shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that establish a fee schedule for requests for manipulated, interpreted, or analyzed data from the geologic records, data, maps, rock cores, and samples archived by the division. The fee schedule may include the cost of specialized storage requirements, programming, labor, research, retrieval, data manipulation, and copying and mailing of records requested from the archives. In addition, the rules shall establish procedures for the levying and collection of the fees in the fee schedule.

(B) For purposes of divisions (H) and (I) of section 1505.01 of the Revised Code, the chief shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that establish a fee schedule to be paid for creating custom maps, custom data sets, and other custom products and for providing geological information of the state. The fee schedule may include the costs of labor, research, analysis, equipment, and technology. In addition, the rules shall establish procedures for the levying and collection of the fees in the fee schedule.

(C) The chief may reduce or waive a fee in a fee schedule established in rules adopted under division (A) or (B) of this section for a student that is enrolled in an institution of higher education.

(D) Any revision to a fee schedule established in rules adopted under division (A) or (B) of this section shall be established in rules adopted under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. A revision to a fee schedule is subject to approval by the director of natural resources.

(E) All fees collected under this section shall be credited to the geological mapping fund created in section 1505.09 of the Revised Code.

Section 1505.06 | Temporary assistance of state employees.

• Effective: September 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

The chief of the division of geological survey in the discharge of official duties under sections 1505.01 to 1505.08 of the Revised Code may call to the chief's assistance, temporarily, any engineers or other employees in any state department, or in the Ohio state university, or other educational institutions financed wholly or in part by the state, for the purpose of making studies, surveys, maps, and plans for economic development or geologic hazards projects.

Such engineers and employees shall not receive any additional compensation over that which they receive from the departments by which they are employed, but they shall be reimbursed for their actual necessary expenses incurred while working under the direction of the chief on the projects.

Section 1505.07 | Permits and leases to take and remove sand, gravel, stone, and other minerals or substances from and under bed of Lake Erie.

• Effective: March 15, 1989
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 70 - 117th General Assembly

Subject to the limitation set forth in section 1505.08 of the Revised Code, the director of natural resources, with the approval of the director of environmental protection, the attorney general, and the governor, may issue permits and make leases to parties making application for permission to take and remove sand, gravel, stone, and other minerals or substances from and under the bed of Lake Erie, either upon a royalty or rental basis, as he determines to be best for the state. Permits shall be issued for terms of not less than one year nor more than ten years, and leases shall be for a term of years or until the economic extraction of the mineral or other substance covered thereby has been completed. Such taking and removal shall be within certain fixed boundaries that do not conflict with the rights of littoral owners. Upon request from the holder of a permit, it shall be canceled, but in the case of any permit or lease, any equipment or buildings owned by the permittee or lessee shall be held as security by the director of natural resources for payment of all rentals or royalties due the state at the time of cancellation.

No person shall remove sand, gravel, stone, or other minerals or substances from and under the bed of Lake Erie without first obtaining a permit or lease therefor from the director.

The director of natural resources may, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, adopt, amend, and rescind rules for the administration, implementation, and enforcement of this section.

Section 1505.08 | Action not in conflict.

• Effective: November 2, 1961
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 379 - 104th General Assembly

Any action taken by the chief of the division of geological survey under sections 1505.01 to 1505.08, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall not be deemed in conflict with certain powers and duties conferred upon and delegated to federal agencies, and to municipal corporations and other state agencies under Section 7 of Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution, or as provided by sections 721.04 to 721.11, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

Section 1505.09 | Geological mapping fund.

• Effective: September 30, 2021
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 110 - 134th General Assembly

(A) There is hereby created in the state treasury the geological mapping fund, to be administered by the chief of the division of geological survey. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the fund shall be used for any of the following purposes:

(1) Performing the necessary field, laboratory, and administrative tasks to map and make public reports on the geology, geologic hazards, and energy and mineral resources of the state;

(2) The administration of the oil and gas land management commission created in section 155.31 of the Revised Code;

(3) To award grants to geology departments at state colleges and universities for undergraduate or graduate level research conducted at locations of geological interest in the state. The chief shall award grants at least annually, but at the chief's discretion, may award grants more frequently;

(4) To provide materials such as rock and mineral kits to state elementary and secondary schools to assist students in the study of geology.

(B) The sources of money for the fund shall include all of the following:

(1) The mineral severance tax as specified in section 5749.02 of the Revised Code;

(2) Transfers made to the fund in accordance with section 6111.046 of the Revised Code;

(3) The fees collected under rules adopted under section 1505.05 of the Revised Code.

The chief may seek federal or other money in addition to the mineral severance tax and fees to carry out the purposes of this section. If the chief receives federal money for the purposes of this section, the chief shall deposit that money into the state treasury to the credit of a fund created by the controlling board to carry out those purposes.

Other money received by the chief for the purposes of this section in addition to the mineral severance tax, fees, and federal money shall be credited to the geological mapping fund.

(C) Any money transferred to the geological mapping fund in accordance with section 6111.046 of the Revised Code shall be used by the chiefs of the divisions of mineral resources management, oil and gas resources management, geological survey, and water resources in the department of natural resources for the purpose of executing their duties under sections 6111.043 to 6111.047 of the Revised Code.

Last updated August 5, 2021 at 2:38 PM

Section 1505.10 | Annual reports.

• Effective: January 1, 2016
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly

The director of natural resources or the director's designee shall prepare and publish for public distribution annual reports that shall include all of the following:

(A) A list of the operators of mines, quarries, pits, or other mineral resource extraction operations in this state;

(B) Information on the location of and commodity extracted at each operation;

(C) Information on the employment at each operation;

(D) Information on the tonnage of coal or other minerals extracted at each operation along with the method of extraction;

(E) Information on the production, use, distribution, value, and other facts relative to the mineral resources of the state that may be of public interest.

The director or the director's designee may require the division of mineral resources management to perform the duties required by this section.

Each operator engaged in the extraction of minerals shall submit an accurate and complete annual report, on or before the last day of January each year, to the director or the director's designee on forms provided by the director or the director's designee and containing the information specified in divisions (A) to (E) of this section for the immediately preceding calendar year. The director or the director's designee may use all or portions of the information collected pursuant to this section in preparing the annual report required by section 1561.04 of the Revised Code.

No person shall fail to comply with this section.

Section 1505.99 | Penalty.

• Effective: September 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

(A) Whoever violates section 1505.07 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than one thousand nor more than two thousand dollars on a first offense; on each subsequent offense, the person shall be fined not less than two thousand nor more than five thousand dollars.

(B) Whoever violates section 1505.04 or 1505.10 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars on a first offense; on each subsequent offense, the person shall be fined not less than one thousand nor more than two thousand dollars. Notwithstanding any section of the Revised Code relating to the distribution or crediting of fines for violations of the Revised Code, all fines imposed under this division shall be paid into the geological mapping fund created in section 1505.09 of the Revised Code.