Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Gas and Oil Chief Eric Vendel has agreed to meet with concerned Warren Community Water and Sewer Association (WCWSA) members due to public pressure, after nearly 150 people attended an April 26th public meeting at Warren High School in Washington County organized by WCWSA members and the board of trustees.
The meeting was called to address community concerns after Vendel approved the application for DeepRock Disposal Solutions’ new Class II injection well (American Growers #4), which is to be located only four miles from WCWSA’s public water wells near the Muskingum River. New rules went into effect in Jan. 2022, and under the new rules, the ODNR must hold a public meeting if the community requests one. The company’s permit was approved just 40 days before the new rules went into effect, however, so the old rules that pre-date 2022 are in effect for this injection well. So not only was the public denied a meeting with ODNR to raise questions and concerns, there are less protections for the community due to old, outdated rules being used – a decision that was made by Chief Vendel.
“We want a meeting, face to face with Chief Vendel to tell him we need better, much better oversight, to protect our water. Right now, we have no faith that the agency can do that,” WCWSA trustee Steve Hutchinson said.
Washington County already has 17 wastewater injection wells, more than any other county in Ohio, and residents are familiar with the problems they cause, such as the contamination of production wells from toxic, radioactive oil and gas waste that migrated from the Redbird injection well in Veto, Washington County, in 2019. ODNR contracted with a company whose report clearly stated that the migration of the oil and gas brine came from the Redbird well due to excessive pressure during injection. Wastewater has been migrating from Class II injection wells for over a decade in Southeast Ohio. The community fears the new injection well, American Growers #4, also owned by DeepRock, could further harm the already overburdened area.
A panel of six speakers shared information about contaminated production wells and health risks from exposure to oil and gas waste, which contains hundreds of harmful chemicals from drilling operations and radium-226 and radium-228. These radioactive isotopes are bone-seeking, cancer-causing elements lasting over a thousand years.
They revealed that many well owners’ and conventional oil and gas producers’ wells had been contaminated and rendered useless by leaking injection wells. Three conventional gas and oil producers with pending lawsuits against the operators spoke about their dozens of wells contaminated by the Redbird #4 injection well, the K&H wells (shut down in 2023), and now, the DeepRock Growers #1 well. Including the newly permitted well, DeepRock owns six in the area, three of which are located near the Vocational School and are more proximal to WCWSA’s water wells. The City of Marietta’s water wells are also located near the Muskingum River.
DeepRock Disposal Solutions is already receiving oil and gas waste by rail and has a permitted barge dock on the Ohio River across from their surface facility on State Route 7, and has another pending permit application with ODNR. DeepRock has also submitted a proposal to do a seismic study to OEPA for a Class I injection well to be located at the same site as the present wells.
Representative Kevin Ritter and Senator Brian Chavez were invited to the meeting, but did not attend, and were represented by empty chairs in the front of the audience. Senator Brian Chavez, who lives in Marietta, is the CEO of DeepRock Disposal Solutions. Chavez is also the chair of the Senate Energy Committee. His committee will hear and decide on every bill on oil and gas issues in the state–a clear conflict of interest.
Left: Warren Township Trustee Joe Vickers gestures toward two empty seats reserved for Ohio Sen. Brian Chavez and Rep. Kevin Ritter, who both represent the Marietta-Warren Township area. Center: people listen during the April 26th meeting. Right: A panel of speakers discusses contamination from injection wells and health risks tied to radioactive oil and gas waste. (Buckeye Environmental Network)
Map: Close-up view of DeepRock Disposal Solutions’ injection well sites in proximity to Warren Community Water and Sewer Association (WCWSA) water wells. The map shows five active or permitted Class II injection wells and one proposed site near the Muskingum River and Warren High School. Residents have raised concerns about potential contamination risks. (Source: ODNR Division of Oil & Gas)
Map: Locations of Class II oil and gas wastewater injection wells (pink dots) and oil and gas production wells (green dots) across Washington County, OH. This county has the highest number of Class II injection wells in the state, including multiple DeepRock Disposal Solutions sites. Community members report repeated contamination incidents linked to injection well migration. (Source: ODNR Division of Oil & Gas)
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