Ohio § 1509.36

§ 1509.36.

Any person adversely affected by an order by the chief of the division of oil and

gas resources management may appeal to the oil and gas commission for an order vacating

or modifying the order. The person so appealing to the commission shall be known as appellant and the chief

shall be known as appellee.  Appellant and appellee shall be deemed to be parties to the appeal. The appeal shall be in writing and shall set forth the order complained of and the

grounds upon which the appeal is based.  The appeal shall be filed with the commission within thirty days after the date

upon which the person to whom the order was issued received the order and, for all

other persons adversely affected by the order, within thirty days after the date of

the order complained of.  Notice of the filing of the appeal shall be filed with the chief within three days

after the appeal is filed with the commission. Upon the filing of the appeal, the commission may decide the appeal, in whole or in

part, without a hearing when, in its judgment, it is appropriate to do so.  If the commission decides to hold a hearing, the commission promptly shall fix the

time and place at which the hearing on the appeal will be held, and shall give the

appellant and the chief at least ten days' written notice thereof by mail.  The commission may postpone or continue any hearing upon its own motion or upon

application of the appellant or of the chief. The filing of an appeal provided for in this section does not automatically suspend

or stay execution of the order appealed from, but upon application by the appellant

the commission may suspend or stay the execution pending determination of the appeal

upon such terms as the commission considers proper. Either party to the appeal or any interested person who, pursuant to commission rules

has been granted permission to appear, may submit such evidence as the commission

considers admissible. For the purpose of conducting a hearing on an appeal, the commission may require the

attendance of witnesses and the production of books, records, and papers, and it may,

and at the request of any party it shall, issue subpoenas for witnesses or subpoenas

duces tecum to compel the production of any books, records, or papers, directed to

the sheriffs of the counties where the witnesses are found.  The subpoenas shall be served and returned in the same manner as subpoenas in criminal

cases are served and returned.  The fees of sheriffs shall be the same as those allowed by the court of common pleas

in criminal cases.  Witnesses shall be paid the fees and mileage provided for under section 119.094 of the Revised Code .  Such fees and mileage expenses incurred at the request of appellant shall be paid

in advance by the appellant, and the remainder of those expenses shall be paid out

of funds appropriated for the expenses of the division of oil and gas resources management. In case of disobedience or neglect of any subpoena served on any person, or the refusal

of any witness to testify to any matter regarding which the witness may be lawfully

interrogated, the court of common pleas of the county in which the disobedience, neglect,

or refusal occurs, or any judge thereof, on application of the commission or any member

thereof, shall compel obedience by attachment proceedings for contempt as in the case

of disobedience of the requirements of a subpoena issued from that court or a refusal

to testify therein.  Witnesses at such hearings shall testify under oath, and any member of the commission

may administer oaths or affirmations to persons who so testify. If a hearing occurs and at the request of any party to the appeal, a record of the

testimony and other evidence submitted shall be taken by an official court reporter

at the expense of the party making the request for the record.  The record shall include all of the testimony and other evidence and the rulings

on the admissibility thereof presented at the hearing.  The commission shall pass upon the admissibility of evidence, but any party may

at the time object to the admission of any evidence and except to the rulings of the

commission thereon, and if the commission refuses to admit evidence the party offering

same may make a proffer thereof, and such proffer shall be made a part of the record

of the hearing. If the commission finds that the order appealed from was lawful and reasonable, it

shall make a written order affirming the order appealed from;  if the commission finds

that the order was unreasonable or unlawful, it shall make a written order vacating

the order appealed from and making the order that it finds the chief should have made.  Every order made by the commission shall contain a written finding by the commission

of the facts upon which the order is based. Notice of the making of the order shall be given forthwith to each party to the appeal

by mailing a certified copy thereof to each such party by certified mail. The order of the commission is final unless vacated by the court of common pleas of

Franklin county in an appeal as provided for in section 1509.37 of the Revised Code . Sections 1509.01 to 1509.37 of the Revised Code , providing for appeals relating to orders by the chief or by the commission, or relating

to rules adopted by the chief, do not constitute the exclusive procedure that any

person who believes the person's rights to be unlawfully affected by those sections

or any official action taken thereunder must pursue in order to protect and preserve

those rights, nor do those sections constitute a procedure that that person must pursue

before that person may lawfully appeal to the courts to protect and preserve those

rights.