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COLUMBUS — A state environmental advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and its Division of Oil and Gas Resources over two oil and gas injection wells proposed near Marietta.

According to a release from Buckeye Environmental Network, the suit filed in Ohio’s 10th District Court of Appeals challenges the agency’s approval of the Stephan #1 and American Growers #4 wells. It alleges ODNR issued permits for the wells “using outdated, less protective rules that no longer meet current legal or scientific standards,” the group said in a release announcing the filing.

“Both wells would inject millions of gallons of toxic and radioactive oil and gas waste into underground formations less than two miles from Marietta’s public drinking water source,” the release said.

Both wells are Class II injection wells, which are used exclusively in connection with oil and natural gas production to dispose of fluids brought to the surface during drilling, the most common being brine, or salt water.

According to the release from Buckeye Environmental Network, ODNR put new rules governing Class II wells in place in 2022 after incidents in which waste migrated from underground wells, including in Washington County. But the agency has since approved three Class II wells and is considering two others, it said. Four of those five wells are owned by DeepRock Disposal Solutions LLC, the release said, including the two at issue in this suit.

“Community members from Washington County sought Buckeye Environmental Network’s support and expertise in protecting their drinking water and we’re proud to take this step on behalf of our members in the area,” said Buckeye Environmental Network Executive Director Becca Pollard.

Washington County has 17 active Class II injection wells and receives nearly 20% of all oil and gas waste disposed of in Ohio each year, the release said. It claims a number of those wells have leaked or failed in recent years.

“The idea that the ODNR is attempting to regulate two injection wells using the old, lax standards is infuriating,” Dawn Hewitt of Washington County for Safe Drinking Water said in the release. “Even worse, these wells are dangerously close to Marietta’s aquifer. That’s my drinking water that is at risk.”

The lawsuit asks the court to overturn ODNR’s approval of the DeepRock permits and require the agency to evaluate them under current standards. The release said the case could set a statewide precedent regarding future injection wells.

“Marietta and Washington County are being forced to accept too much waste too close to our aquifers,” Marietta City Council President Susan Vessels said in the release. “Should the proposed injection wells go online, every single year DeepRock would be able to inject one hundred times the volume of waste that resulted in the Love Canal disaster, all within two miles of four aquifers serving (32,000) people.”

Buckeye Environmental Network is being represented in the suit by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization.