Athens County residents receive update on K&H injection wells

Speakers Natalie Kruse, James Yskamp and Roxanne Groff each addressed the community’s concerns by explaining what fracking and injection wells are, what the US Environmental Protection Agency should be looking for and acting on, and who residents can contact.

On June 2, 2023, Ohio Division of Oil and Gas ordered injection at the K&H wells to cease due to the migration of toxic, radioactive waste from the wells to gas production wells more than a mile away. The order stated that the continued operation of the wells presented an imminent danger to the public’s health and safety and was likely to result in immediate substantial damage to the state’s natural resources.

The company appealed the order to the governor-appointed Oil and Gas Commission to reopen operations. The commission granted the request in October 2023, despite objections by the state Division of Oil and Gas. Although a hearing on the matter was held on Dec. 5, 2023, the wells continue to inject frackwaste.

Ohio University Environmental Studies Program Director Kruse spoke about oils and gas wells that have not been properly abandoned and closed. She mentioned why confining layers should be placed to prevent slough from moving upward, and the possible pathways, such as fractures in the rocks, in which toxic chemicals can escape and possibly impact neighboring water sources.

“Whether you get water or get yield is going to depend on so many things that you may just not get very much water out of your well,” Kruse said.

Kruse also spoke about the bidding process through Ohio Department of Natural Resources for sampling drinking water wells within a half-mile radius of the K&H wells, which was completed on March 15. The maximum normal ratio of chloride to bromide in water is 400:1 without human influence. If that ratio is higher or the chloride is at 250 mg/L or higher, the water should be re-sampled, but if brine migrated into a drinking well, the time it would take a person to notice and the signs to look out for are unknown.

“I’m not sure what those signs would be, and at what point do you notice, and is it already so widespread at that point that it is hard to do something about it,” said Kruse.

Yskamp is an attorney with Earthjustice, a public-interest environmental law organization. He has been working on cases for injection wells for 10 years. There was talk of a petition to revoke Ohio’s primacy over Class ll wells, it is an EPA program that the federal agency lets Ohio run. Yskamp said there is a possibility of getting rid of waste by spreading it onto the road. Although it is technically legal in Ohio, the community members expressed concerns. Of the waste injected into Ohio’s wells, 48% comes from out of state and 50% is in-state.

Yskamp states, “Ohio has injection laws because we take our neighboring states’ waste, we take on most of Pennsylvania’s waste and a lot of West Virginia’s.”

Hydraulic fracking leads to spills, leaks, and releases that produce billions in waste annually and could fill approximately 38 million barrels. These fracking and injection wells are having negative impacts on the environment leading to an increase in earthquakes, the most being 12 in one year.

Injection wells are regulated under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The injection well programs include six classes of wells. The K&H wells are in the Class ll program, which is for the injection of oil and gas waste. Yskamp said that for any other injection program, the EPA establishes a minimum regulation, and the state has to adopt each of those. However, the Class ll program is different because the wells don’t have to meet those EPA regulations as long as they are not endangering drinking water.

Yskamp also discussed the technical issues associated with obtaining a permit or appeal, the state’s lack of staff to conduct proper inspections, and all the processes that are skipped when it comes to safe wells.

“A drilling permit will be noticed but cannot be appealed, an injection permit can be appealed but will not be noticed,” Yskamp said.

Roxanne Groff, a former Athens County Commissioner and Township Trustee, emphasized Yskamp’s points by sharing photos of improperly closed, abandoned, and poorly treated frack and injection wells. Groff stated that there are 226-228 injection wells in the state of Ohio, nine of those being in Athens County. The community is fighting to stop a 10th one from being placed.

There have been three different hearings regarding fracking and injection wells with over 100 people at each, and the citizens have all been ignored, Groff said.

Meeting attendees expressed concerns that the testing taking place will only be a one-time thing. Groff told the community they will have access to all testing data. She also pointed out that even after seven to eight months to think over concerns and issues, as of March 26, the state of Ohio still has not made any decisions regarding the K&H wells.

“Do you want to know why nobody is doing anything about this,” Groff asked the audience. “Quite frankly, it’s because ODNR has no enforcement authority.”