Pennyroyal Opera House in Fairview (Ohio), area of concern for two injection wells

Please support the Concerned Ohio River Residents (CORR) by taking this action on two proposed injection wells for Belmont County, OH TODAY. With the proposed petrochemical hub in Appalachia, we believe more and more injection wells are being planned to prepare for the waste that would be generated to feed the build-out. We also believe that by stopping the cracker plant, there will be less of a need for injection wells. Read on to see how you can help CORR today.

Tri-State Environmental SWIW LLC is applying for two injection well permits at a single location in section #2 of Kirkwood Township on Dickinson Cattle Co. land near Barnesville, Ohio. The permit application states that the average injection at this site would be 8,000 barrels a day of oil and gas waste.

We have the opportunity to submit comments in opposition to this dangerous facility through March 14th. We urge folks to do so and to try to recruit others to take action as well. We would suggest also sending your letters of opposition to the company. Calling Ohio Dept. Of Natural Resources (ODNR) to voice your concerns, as well as submitting written comments, is encouraged.

***Please request for a public hearing in your letter or if you call. If there are enough requests, the ODNR may hold a hearing on the injection wells.***

Injection wells not only threaten our water supplies, they can also be a significant source of air pollution. Below is a link to Earthworks FLIR images of the Silcor injection well in Cambridge, Ohio that shows evidence of significant air pollution. If these injection wells are permitted, brine truck traffic will increase drastically in and around Barnesville, Fairview and surrounding areas. Injection wells have also been proven to cause earthquakes.

Efforts to stop these injection wells are encouraged and greatly appreciated. We must remain resistant and persistent to all that threatens us and our children’s future.

Thank you, Concerned Ohio River Residents
(740) 738-3024

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Send written comments postmarked by March 14th to:

Ohio Department of Natural resources, Resources Management
2045 Morse Road, Building F-2, Columbus, Ohio 43229-6693
(614) 265-6922

And to the company at:

Tri-State Environmental SWIW LLC
40200 Cadiz Piedmont Road, Cadiz, Ohio 43907

FLIR images of Hillstone Silcor Injection Well: https://youtu.be/_sKZoQTcPio

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See also: Company seeking permits for two injection wells in Kirkwood Township, Shelley Hanson, Martins Ferry Times Leader, March 1, 2020

FAIRVIEW — Tri-State Environmental of Cadiz has applied for permits to install two different brine injection wells off Fairview Road in Kirkwood Township, Belmont County. Fairview is home to the Pennyroyal Opera House.

According to a public notice, Tri-State has applied for permits with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to drill two wells to inject brine water associated with the production of oil and natural gas. The first well would be called Tri-State #1, in Section 31, Kirkwood Township.

“The proposed well will inject into the Ohio Shale at a depth of 4,600 to 4,800 feet. The average injection is estimated to be 4,000 barrels per day,” according to the notice. “The maximum injection pressure is estimated to be 1,060 psi.”

The second well would be called Tri-State #2, in Section 25, Kirkwood Township. “The proposed well will inject into the Bass Islands through Salina Group at a depth of 5,200 to 5,500 feet,” the notice states.

The No. 2 well also would receive an estimated 4,000 barrels of brine per day. This would equate to about 168,000 gallons per day.

For more information, contact ODNR at 614-265-6922. Comments and objections must be received by ODNR no later than 15 days after Feb. 28 via mail to:

Ohio DNR Division of Oil & Gas Resources Management, 2045 Morse Road, Building F-2, Columbus, OH 43229. Comments can also be emailed to: oilandgas@dnr.state.oh.us.

Pillar Energy injection well has potential to pollute local streams and perhaps the Cheat River

From an Article by Rick Steelhammer, Charleston Gazette, January 20, 2020

After receiving 1,100 comments opposing a permit to dispose of nearly 600 barrels of brine and other drilling waste daily by injecting it into an inactive well along a Tucker County stream, the state Department of Environmental Protection has agreed to hold a public hearing on the matter.

The permit, sought by Pillar Energy LLC of Charleston, would authorize the operation of a disposal well along Horseshoe Run near the community of Leadmine to serve the company’s gas drilling activity in the area. The disposal well is located within about 250 feet of the trout stream, according to a map accompanying the permit application.

According to the Friends of Blackwater, a public hearing on the permit request is expected to take place sometime in March, following a two-month extension of a public comment period that ended last week.

Comments submitted to the DEP by members of the conservation group raised concerns about the dangers of drilling waste leaking from the injection well or nearby storage tanks into the groundwater or Horseshoe Run, a tributary of the Cheat River. Major flooding took place along Horseshoe Run in July 2018 and June of last year, they noted.

If the permit in its current form is issued, it “could undermine years of restoration work on the Cheat that has been completed to return ecological health to the watershed,” said Judy Rodd, Friends of Blackwater director.

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FRIENDS Of BLACKWATER Invite Participation in Public Hearing

On Thursday March 5th, from 5-8 PM, the WV Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is holding a public hearing for the Pillar underground injection well permit renewal that FOB is opposing, worried that it will contaminate Horseshoe Run and the Cheat River.

Join us at the hearing at the Tucker Co Board of Education Gym at 100 Education Ln, Parsons, WV 26287 (above RT. 72 north of the Parsons stop light) and sign our petition here to stand with FOB and 1700 other supporters to oppose this potential source of water pollution.

CONTACT US: FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER, PO Box 247
571 Douglas Rd, Thomas WV 26292. 304-345-7663
info@saveblackwater.org. — https://saveblackwater.org

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See also: Tri-State Environmental wants to put two injection wells on a piece of land in Barnesville OH | WTOV News 9, March 2, 2020

“There’s definitely not a reason for the public to be concerned. Brine is water that is naturally occurring in the earth,” said ODNR’s Adam Schroeder. [This is certainly a misleading statement as the brine contains many trace elements some of which are radioactive. DGN, FCWV].

The public comment period is open through March 14.

Well pads are purple, UIC wells are chartreuse & earthquakes are orange

From an Article by Kate Mishkin, Charleston Gazette – Mail, May 2, 2019

State and federal regulators are skirting their obligations to protect West Virginia’s drinking water from the effects of fracking, a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council says.

The report, made public this week, examines the way the state Department of Environmental Protection (WV-DEP) regulates oil and gas underground injection activities, and how hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can threaten underground drinking water if operators aren’t held accountable.

By examining records from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the group detailed the times the state was inconsistent in its reporting, and found it often sidestepped the state underground injection control program, and federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.

In some cases, companies submitted reports that said they’d been injecting wastewater under an expired permit, and that wells had been abandoned without being plugged.

Companies extract natural gas by shooting water, chemicals and sand at a high pressure into wells, often generating large amounts of wastewater, which can contain contaminants such as radiation and heavy metals. Companies often dispose of the large quantities of wastewater by injecting it underground.

And as companies continue to tap into the sprawling Marcellus Shale, the amount of wastewater injected grows, too — “exacerbating the need for safe waste-management practices,” the report says.

“It is crucial that underground injection be properly designed, constructed, operated and maintained — and eventually plugged and abandoned — to ensure that they do not threaten underground sources of drinking water protected by federal and state statutes,” the report says.

In many cases, though, the WV-DEP allowed companies to inject without a permit, continue to operate without applying for a renewal permit before the permit expired and continuing to inject after the WV-DEP issued an order stopping it.

The wells, the report says, “reveal a pattern of unsafe practices and lax enforcement over the years. Any improperly operated well has the potential to cause environmental problems, and potential violations should be taken seriously.”

There are currently three active disposal wells that have received Notices of Violations but haven’t been abated, said Terry Fletcher, a spokesman for the WV-DEP. Of those, two have been abated but aren’t in the department’s database; one well isn’t injecting.

“The WVDEP acknowledges that abandoned and unplugged wells are a legitimate issue and has been working with well operators and others within the industry to find viable solutions to this issue,” Fletcher said.

He said the WV-DEP hasn’t logged any incidents of groundwater contamination from a UIC disposal well.

Amy Mall, senior policy analyst for the NRDC, said some of the failure comes from a lack of accountability.

“I think there’s a combination of the fact that a lot of these sites are in rural areas, companies may think nobody’s watching them [and] nobody’s going to find out if they don’t fully comply with the law,” she said.

And in many cases, companies don’t have a reason to be deterred from breaking rules, Mall said. “Companies don’t have the incentive to comply with the law unless there’s strict enforcement and penalties, otherwise there’s no incentive for them to comply,” she said.

The report recommends the WV-DEP establish stronger operating standards, enforce its rules and be more transparent. It asks the federal Environmental Protection Agency to enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act in the state.

Deckers Creek Trail should be protected from injection wells

From the Friends of Deckers Creek, Morgantown, WV, October 30, 2018

This is a follow up to our previous email regarding the permit renewal notice for an injection well in the watershed. Our request for a public hearing was granted.

The WVDEP Office of Oil and Gas will conduct a public hearing concerning the permit application for disposal well on Thursday November 8, 2018 at the Masontown Volunteer Fire Department located at 362 Main Street, Masontown, WV.

Representatives from the WVDEP will be there from 5 pm to 6 pm to answer any questions and will have maps and documents available for review. The public comment period will begin at 6 pm.

Please click here to see full letter regarding hearing.

The Friends of Deckers Creek (FODC) will be in attendance and plans to ask the questions brought forth in our public comment letter that can be viewed here. We invite members of the community to join us and ask any questions that you may have regarding the permit application.

Because this is a permit renewal application, our main goal is to get answers on the processes and procedures in place if a spill or leak were to occur onsite or in transportation. It is also to see if there are any upgrades to the site planned. The site has been running for several years with no issue or impact to the surrounding area that we are aware of. We want to ensure that that continues to be the case.

NOTE: 11/8/18, 5 PM, Masontown VFD, 362 Main Street, Masontown, WV

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Informing Local Residents About the Ohio Valley PetroHub

From the Fresh Water Accountability Project (FWAP), October 31, 2018

FWAP holds meetings with local communities to alert those who will be most directly impacted about the downsides the industry does not want them to know

In the past few weeks, FWAP has been knocking on doors, phone banking, doing direct mailings, and holding public meetings in the area where PTT Global has proposed to build its petrochemical complex in Dilles Bottom, Belmont County, OH. We are doing our best to make sure the community that will be most directly impacted by the PTTG petrochemical complex is informed of the risks associated with the facility, the foreign companies that will profit at the expense of residents’ health, and the alternatives that can provide clean, good, steady jobs in the area.

Please join us for (and spread the word about) our upcoming community meetings:

Wednesday, November 7th, 6 – 8 pm
Shadyside Community Center, 50 East 39th St., Shadyside, OH 43947

Thursday, November 8th, 1 – 3 pm
Ohio County Library, 52 16th Street, Wheeling, WV 26003

Draft Air Permit Issued for Belmont Petrochemical Complex

On Friday, the Ohio EPA issued the draft air permit for the PTTG petrochemical complex. FWAP is currently reviewing the draft permit and will be submitting written comments and encourages everyone to do the same. To be considered as part of the official record, written comments must be received by Ohio EPA/Southeast District Office by 5pm on December 3, 2018. Comments can be mailed to Kimbra Reinbold, Ohio EPA, DAPC Southeast District Office (SEDO), 2195 East Front Street, Logan, Ohio, 43138. Comments can also be faxed to (740) 385-6490.

A hearing on the draft air permit will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, November 27, 2018, at Shadyside High School, 3890 Lincoln Ave., Shadyside, OH 43947. FreshWater will be in attendance and encourages everyone to show up for this important hearing!

FWAP has been and will continue to be aggressive in combatting all efforts to turn the Ohio River Valley into the next “cancer alley” through petrochemical development.

For more information on the petrochemical buildout proposed for the Ohio River Valley, check out this informative article by our friends at DeSmog Blog.

WV Route 857 North

WV-DEP files case against area developer

From an Article by David Beard, TheDPost.com, May 23, 2014

MORGANTOWN — The state Department of Environmental Protection (WV-DEP) is asking Monongalia County Circuit Court to assess $25,000 per day penalties against a Morgantown developer for alleged environmental violations at a Cheat Lake-area industrial park.

WV-DEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management filed the “complaint for enforcement” on May 22. It issued 12 notices of violation (NOVs) from Sept. 16, 2010, through May 9, 2013, to defendant LPG Land & Development Corp., based on Fairchance Road (WV Route 857 in Monongalia County).

Paul Panson is LPG’s president. The 18-acre industrial park is sited between Fairchance and the Mon-Fayette Expressway, just north of the Interstate 68 and Mon-Fayette interchange. (The LPG site is a service area for the oil and gas industry.)

An LPG representative said Thursday that management hadn’t seen the complaint yet and couldn’t comment.

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Leak Found at Fayette County WV Frack Waste Site

From an Article by Jessica Lilly, WV Public Broadcasting, May 23, 2014

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection says there indeed was a leak earlier this month in a pipe carrying oil and gas waste from an above ground pit, to an underground injection well in Lochghelly in Fayette County.

As we reported earlier this week, Danny Webb Construction is working to close and reclaim an above ground pit holding waste from the oil and gas industry, including frackwater.

The WV-DEP confirmed that residents’ concerns about leakage during the process were valid. The WV-DEP says there was a leak earlier this month in a pipe carrying wastewater to an underground injection well on the property.

The state environmental agency says the leak was fixed and the impacted soil was dug up and disposed of in a landfill.

The reclamation work comes months after the DEP ordered the pits closed because the operator needed to update the lining and install a leak detection system.

Danny Webb Construction used the pits to remove sediments before injecting into a UIC or underground injection well. The permit for this well expired in 2012 but was renewed February 2014, only to be revoked in early March.

Since then, the WV-DEP changed the application for this type of well. The changes include a new format structured to look more like the permit applications used by the WV-DEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management, and also inclusion of additional guidance on what is needed for the application.

As of Wednesday the operator had not resubmitted a permit application. Environmental groups and citizen Brad Keenan are appealing the revocation because it appears to allow the operator to continue to collect waste just the same as if the permit were approved. A hearing before the Quality Control Board is set for June 12 at the Charleston WV-DEP office.

ECA Injection Well Proposed on Deckers Creek in Preston County

Letter from the FRIENDS OF DECKERS CREEK, August 2, 2013

Dear Friends and Partners:

We are writing to inform you of Friends of Deckers Creek’s opposition to a proposed Class II wastewater injection well being planned by the Energy Corporation of America (ECA) in the Deckers Creek watershed. The proposed well will be located less than one mile northwest of Masontown, between Sand Bank Road and Deckers Creek (Well#: Cascade 474, API#: 077-00170, Lat: 39.559727, Long: -79.810163).

The proposed well appears to be about 500 feet from Deckers Creek and just northwest of the Masontown rail trail parking area, also located on Sand Bank Road. We have the exact location since ECA plans to “repurpose” an existing conventional gas well as a Class II underground wastewater injection well. The Class II well would be used for the injection of wastewater from regional wells that have been horizontally drilled and hydraulically fractured. You can insert the latitude and longitude provided above into a Google map locator to find the exact location of the proposed well.

The attached letter details our basis for opposing this well. Please read the letter carefully. We feel it is important that all stakeholders understand our concerns. We plan numerous events to help inform the public and rally opposition to the proposed well. We will keep you informed of these events and activities and hope you can join us. We plan a public discussion and overview of the ECA well plans as part of the next FODC outreach meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 22, 2013, at WVU’s Agricultural Science Building (Room 1001) from 6:30p to 9:00p.

The outreach meeting also will include a screening of the critically-acclaimed film Green Fire about renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold. If you have any questions, concerns and/or know of ways that we can better address this situation, please let us know.

Sincerely, Elizabeth Wiles, Executive Director, Friends of Deckers Creek, PO Box 877, Dellslow, WV 26531