In December, residents from across Washington County filled Graham Auditorium for a public forum on injection wells, hosted by Washington County for Safe Drinking Water and supported by Buckeye Environmental Network. Three keynote speakers share new information that hadn’t been shared yet.
Dr. John Stolz from Duquesne University provided a brief introduction to what Class II injection wells are, what the ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources has to say about them, basic information about the composition of oil and gas “brine”, and how these facilities can cause earthquakes. Justin Nobel, an investigative journalist and author of the book “Petroleum-238” summarized his investigations showing that internal documents reveal industry and federal scientists have known for over 50 years that injection wells are an unsafe and unreliable method of disposing oil-and-gas wastewater. These records show they long understood the risks of earthquakes, fluid migration, and surface leaks, with one EPA official admitting in 1971, “We really do not know what happens to the wastes down there. Dr. Ted Auch with FieldNotes explained how injection-well disposal evolved, the risks of brine-truck transport, flaws in sandstone capacity estimates, how modern drilling increases waste, and lessons from other states on pore space, pooling, and more.
Speakers also shared that Washington County has 19 permitted Class II injection wells, six within two miles of Marietta’s Source Water Protection Area. Although the county represents about 1.5 percent of Ohio’s land area, it accepts 20 percent of all injected wastewater in the state, with nearly half coming from out of state. From 2010 to 2024, 2.8 billion gallons of oil and gas wastewater were injected into the county, a volume described as the equivalent of 4,313 Olympic swimming pools.
The meeting also addressed what oil and gas wastewater contains, including radioactive materials, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals. Speakers discussed documented cases in Ohio where injection wells were linked to brine migration and mechanical failures, including examples from Noble County, Athens County, and Washington County’s Redbird #4 injection well, where ODNR determined injected brine migrated to production wells as far as five miles away.
Permitting decisions near Marietta were another focus. Speakers explained that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources permitted two Class II injection wells using expired rules, applying a half mile area of review instead of the two mile review required under updated regulations. According to information shared at the forum, this resulted in hundreds of nearby oil and gas wells not being evaluated for potential corrective action.
We need your continued involvement to win!! We absolutely cannot do this without the entire community. The Washington County for Safe Drinking Water group is looking to grow and expand their efforts! If you would like to get involved in protecting clean water and healthy communities in Washington County, Ohio, please CLICK HERE to fill out an interest form. We are looking for people who want to volunteer, attend council meetings, help to spread the word and educate, get petition signatures, etc.
Next steps
Sign and share the petition calling for a three year moratorium on injection wells in the county.
Put up a yard sign supporting protection of local water. Respond to this email if you would like a yard sign!
Donate to support outreach and education. See our donation page on our website.
Write a letter to the editor about injection wells in Washington County.
The full video of the forum is embedded below, so you can watch the entire discussion directly.