While the nation is focused on the federal budget as Congress resumes work after the August recess, there are similar – and often worse – pressures building at the state level.

Last month the AAPG EXPLORER ran an article on the budget difficulties facing the Louisiana Geological Survey.

And just yesterday AAPG member Peter MacKenzie penned an op-ed piece in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about the difficulties facing the Ohio Geological Survey.

“Understanding the geology under our feet helps us make better decisions about where and how to build roads, sewers, tunnels, shopping centers and homes, as well as helping us find where the oil, gas, coal, limestone, sand and gravel are best located to build and power our society,” MacKenzie writes. “Its products and expertise are also employed by mining companies, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio Department of Transportation, other divisions within the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and governmental agencies, university researchers, K-12 educators, nongovernmental organizations, realty agents and a cross section of environmental and geotechnical engineering consultants.”

He cites a recent study on the economic contributions of the Ohio Geological Survey to the state economy that “shows that the products, services and data provided by the Survey contribute an estimated $575 million to the Ohio economy – in the recession and before the shale frenzy had gripped the state.”

“With its broad-reaching economic impact, the Survey is an example of an appropriate general revenue fund agency,” MacKenzie writes and calls for the Ohio legislature to restore the survey’s state funding.