By Dee Wells Arnold

If you want to know if we should be worried about safe drinking water in Washington County, let me share some information:

1. Volume of waste

being injected

There is no oil/gas fracking taking place in Washington County; rather, due to the onslaught of Class II injection wells, we are becoming a dumping ground for toxic, radioactive waste. We are ranked second in the state for the most waste being brought into a county. Washington County has 17 active Class ll waste injection wells, with two more recently permitted but not yet drilled. To gain context, Ohio has over 230 active injection wells, Pennsylvania has 16, and West Virginia has 27. Another very concerning fact is that about half of all of the toxic waste being injected into Ohio’s earth comes from other states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia because these states don’t want the radioactive, toxic brine in their ground. In Washington County alone, during the time frame of 2010-2024, there has been 2.8 billion gallons of toxic waste injected into the ground, which is about 4,313 Olympic swimming pools. In the entire state of Ohio, (same time frame), the number is 15.2 billon gallons of brine waste which equates to 23,057 Olympic swimming pools. How can anyone, in good conscience, think bringing this amount of radioactive, toxic waste into our state is a good idea for Ohio? What could all of this toxic waste be doing to our land, the wildlife, the environment, our water, people’s health and our communities in general? And what kind of legacy are we leaving to our children and grandchildren?

2. Proximity to drinking water sources

Presently, there are four active Class II injection wells within two miles of Marietta’s aquifer. Earlier this year, two new Class ll injection wells were approved by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (using old rules) within that same two-mile radius. Additionally, a Class I injection well has been applied for and is under review by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency within that radius. DeepRock Disposal Solutions LLC owns all seven of the wells. It is concerning that this company could operate a total of seven injection wells within a short distance of multiple aquifers that supply drinking water to 32,000 people in the Marietta and the surrounding area.

3. Class I injection well presents a unique risk

For background on the Class I injection well, there are only approximately 800 in the entire country, and predominantly they are in the northwestern part of the state. That is mostly because of the fact that Class I wells present a threat to oil and gas extraction, therefore they are sited in areas where fracking is not taking place. There has only been one instance of a Class I well being permitted in the Appalachian Ohio region, and that was the Haverhill well that failed due to vertical brine migration and was shut down and abandoned. It failed partially due to the way it was drilled and partially due to the geology of the region. Companies and regulators will tell you that the well would only be for “non-hazardous” material. However, by definition, “non-hazardous waste” would be things like landfill leachate, wastewater from industrial processes (like chemical, refinery or manufacturing), mining and municipal sewage systems. Other examples of “non-hazardous waste” are brines, sludges, oil-field fluids, cooling waters and even some contaminated groundwater. This “non-hazardous waste” being injected right now can also be concentrated PFAS remediation liquids. Landfills accept PFAS filters from water systems. This water is then collected and sent to Class I wells. So the remediation and filtering of the “forever chemicals” that DuPont put into our environment would get injected right back into our region where it came from. You know what other types of waste goes into “non-hazardous” wells? The cleanup water from the East Palestine train derailment disaster. That wastewater went to a Class I “non-hazardous” well in Coshocton.

4. Injection wells have already failed in Southeast Ohio

Since 2010, Class ll wells have been leaking or “migrating” brine wastewater outside the intended injection zones in southeast Ohio, sometimes over five miles away. Seven injection wells have failed in the region and six have been shut down by ODNR. All of the failed wells were permitted and operated under old rules. Let’s talk about the rules. New rules were established by ODNR in 2022 and were put in place to better protect the public. The new rules added stricter requirements for siting, permitting, construction and operation. The agency also included limitations or bans on disposal into certain formations. DeepRock applied for several new injection wells just 44 days before the new rules would take effect, and they were granted permission to establish the wells with the old permitting rules by ODNR. If the new laws were created to protect us, shouldn’t the new rules apply to a company that wants to establish wells? Buckeye Environmental Network has filed a lawsuit that is challenging ODNR’s permitting of the wells under old rules. In 1983, the ODNR became responsible for permitting, monitoring and enforcing regulations for these deep disposal wells, and this is called “primacy.” ODNR, specifically its Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, is the lead agency for permitting and regulating the oil and gas industry within the state’s borders, rather than the EPA directly.

5. Production well owners have already been impacted in the county

Oil and gas production well owners in Washington County have reported many issues with their wells to the ODNR, including abnormal/increased fluid and pressure of brine and wells becoming unusable due to the changes. To date, ODNR has not responded to these documented complaints adequately, nor have they studied the brine migration issue in the county, or in the state, in any methodical, thorough, long-term, systematic way. As well, DeepRock has reportedly had issues with migration of Class ll injection wells in Noble County that got into a nearby stream and amounted to a million dollar cleanup. Is it really worth the risk to allow these seven injection wells to be operational when they are so close to our community and our aquifers, knowing what we do about the toxic migration incidents from the past? We have been told by experts that if this toxic waste gets into our water sources, it is “game over” and the water source would be destroyed. If the water source is destroyed, there would be no viable community.

All of the information provided above is why the Washington County for Safe Drinking Water Committee is hosting an event to educate the public on safe drinking water and injection well concerns. It will take place from 6-8 p.m. today at Washington State College of Ohio’s Graham Auditorium. There will be three nationally recognized speakers coming from New York, Cleveland and Pittsburgh to educate us on this issue. We as a community need to come to this event to learn more about this issue and share ideas on how to move forward in this serious situation. Please join us. Thank you.

Dee Wells Arnold is a Marietta resident and a member of the Washington County for Safe Drinking Water Committee.