ODNR has issued an injection well permit to K&H Partners in Troy Township, which would make Athens County the biggest fracking waste depository in the state.
A brine injection well recently permitted to Troy Township will likely make Athens County the largest acceptor of chemical-laden fracking waste in Ohio.
The well, owned by K&H Partners, was permitted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources on March 18 to accept as many as 12,000 barrels of brine per day from a steady flow of tractor-trailers travelling down U.S. Route 50.
The Athens County Fracking Action Network took legal action against ODNR Tuesday, citing sizeable human health concerns for air and water quality and demanding a retraction of the permit.
“There is something really wrong with a system that forces an economically disadvantaged area for the economic gain of a handful of people while threatening what is a growing local food tourism and renewables industry,” said Crissa Cummings, a local activist who chained herself to the K&H gate last June to protest the safety of the wells. “The fact that our local community has no say in the decision making is a serious problem.”
Brine is a byproduct of the fracking process, where two to five million gallons of chemicals and sand are combined with water and shot underground to crack shale layers and access the oil and gas below. Much of that combined fluid rebounds after the oil is extracted and must be disposed of before it becomes the brine that is injected into underground wells.
ODNR is not required by law to monitor the long-term structural safety of these wells or the surrounding air quality.
K&H owns two other injection wells in Troy, which accepted about 2.5 of the 2.9 million barrels of brine relocated into Athens County’s seven injection wells last year.
The third well would increase that yearly total to 4.4 million barrels.
Coshocton County in central Ohio was the top acceptor of brine last year at 3.5 million barrels. With the addition of K&H 3, Athens County would be vaulted to that position.
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Before ODNR issued the permit, a public comment period yielded 243 anti-well letters and only one in support of the well. However, no public hearing was held for ODNR officials to address the concerns of community members.
Comments against the injection well cited concerns over the adequacy of the seven inch protective brine casing thickness and the lack of geological and aquifer mapping at the injection site. The Athens County Fracking Action Network’s appeal to the permit said there is no evidence of a geological confinement zone at the K&H site that would keep the injected waste from coming back up into the water table.
According to ODNR Spokesman Eric Heis, Rick Simmers, the chief of the Division of Oil and Gas, makes the decision to call a hearing when public comments are deemed to have substance and are relevant to the public, safety or conservation practices.
“We review each and every comment that is submitted to be sure that every citizen’s concerns have been addressed in the permitting process,” Heis said.
Heather Cantino of the network said she is not convinced of the thoroughness of ODNR’s comment reviews.
“The fact that receiving hundreds of comments with alarmingly substantive concerns is apparently not enough to call a public hearing is an abuse of Mr. Simmers’ discretion,” Cantino said. “It’s not a legally appropriate response.”
ODNR has a list of 40 frequently asked questions and answers from the public comments listed on its website. That list was posted April 8 after the well had already been permitted.
“We need to hold ODNR and John Kasich accountable for their illegal and criminal management of our groundwater and our drinking water,” Cantino said. “By allowing radioactive toxic frack waste to be dumped into our land they are showing their lack of respect and concern for all members of Athens County, including the students.”
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