Oil and gas law is, at its core, real estate law that has been shaped by a thousand years of common law and, more recently, statutory law. Ohio is no exception, and one area that has been impacted significantly by shifting legal policies and statutes is the ownership of minerals beneath “school lands” in Section 16 of Ohio’s Townships.
In the Federal Land Ordinance of 1785, Ohio was required to reserve one section of land (i.e., one square mile, usually section 16), in every Ohio township for the support of public education. Extending that federal mandate, in 1917, the Ohio Legislature passed a law that, among other provisions, provided, “It is declared to be the policy of the state to conserve … mineral resources of the [school lands held in trust] … and to this end the state reserves all gas, oil, coal, iron and other minerals that may be upon or under the said school lands… .” H.B. No. 192, passed March, 20, 1917 (107 Ohio Laws 357). Realizing the magnitude of this reservation and the fact that the Ohio Dormant Minerals Act cannot be used against government interests, my interest was tweaked and I decided to dig a little deeper.
Continue Reading Who owns the minerals under Ohio Township Section 16?