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Kevin Ritter, member of the Ohio House of Representatives for District 94, is running for re-election this November. Still, he doesn't seem concerned with one issue facing the people in District 94. In the Sept. 19th article titled "Ohio Oil & Gas Association opposes proposed moratorium," Ritter questions the need for a pause in new injection well activity. The issue with this stance is that residents are less concerned with “new injection well activity” than with the continuing injection. The continuing injection of toxic brine into
over-capacitated wells is a pressing concern. Ritter also argues that "we're already in a nearly four-year pause" because new injection well applications have not been submitted since 2022. This framing distorts the issue. Having a lack of applications does not negate the fact that companies continue to inject hazardous brine waste into wells that cannot accommodate more. Brine waste migration has been documented up to five miles away from the original injection site. I'm sure Washington County residents would find this concerning, considering four injection wells sit just two miles from our drinking water aquifers. As a scientist who has presented water quality research at a national American Chemical Society conference, the implications of brine migrating into our aquifers would be devastating.
Shallyn Bradford
Marietta, OH