Athens County Commissioners hold standing-room-only public injection well meeting  

Athens, Nov. 20, 2013 — It was standing-room-only as over 160 people filled the Athens Community Center Tuesday night as the Athens County Commissioners took testimony from citizens about an oil and gas waste injection well, K&H Partners #2, proposed for eastern Athens County. If approved, this permit would make the injection well complex the largest in the state.

The commissioners held the public meeting after their request, like those of over 100 Athens County residents­­, for a public hearing by Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) was ignored.[1] ODNR’s Division of Oil and Gas has never held a Public Hearing.

Commissioner Eliason mentioned that after repeated letters to ODNR with no response, he had, in the last 24 hours, gotten two responses. Director James Zehringer wrote, “No hearing will be held on the K&H Partners permit application because no new scientific information or evidence has been identified to indicate that this proposed well is a threat to public health or safety.”

Eliason said the meeting was “important to give people an appropriate way to express their concerns. We are doing to use today’s testimony to put pressure on the legislature to mandate the requirement for public input. Injection wells should be under local control, not forced on the people.”

Dozens of people provided two hours of testimony, ranging from the high levels of radioactivity in injected oilfield waste to concerns over recent Ohio earthquakes linked to waste injection. Many speakers called for Ohio injection well permitting to be suspended until a full audit of Ohio’s Injection Well Program is done by US EPA. USEPA Region 5 has postponed its scheduled audit to evaluate testimony being received from Ohioans, according to a recipient of a recent phone call from USEPA.

Many addressed degradation of cement and steel casings documented as inevitable in industry literature, especially under high pressure and corrosive conditions. She concluded, “There is no information here about mapping of the aquifers in the area, key information needed to protect drinking water. Where is the science?” Greg Howard, who has worked in the HAZMAT field, bemoaned the low standards used by the American Petroleum Institute. (Ohio requires even lower standards.) “They can use pipe that hasn’t been hydro tested. The engineering just isn’t right.”

Many speakers, including David Gedeon, representing Athens Conservancy, addressed the more stringent rules that would be in place if Ohio did not have primacy, or authority, for managing the injection well program. Susan Righi, M.D., cited USEPA rules that would require complete disclosure and EPA approval of all ingredients in the injectate. Speakers pointed to the near absence of injection wells in states without primacy, which follow USEPA regulations. Speakers blamed Ohio’s lax rules and low taxes for vast quantities of waste coming into Ohio. 53% of over 14 million barrels of waste injected in Ohio in 2012 came from out-of-state.

Speakers addressed the legal responsibility of US EPA to ensure that Ohio protects drinking water. They called on USEPA to revoke Ohio’s primacy based on ODNR’s inability to protect drinking water as requested in a March 14, 2013 petition by Teresa Mills on behalf of Ohio residents.

Attorney Anne Rubin addressed other federal laws being violated by ODNR management. She pointed out that most of the injection wells in the state are near impoverished communities: “This is one result of Ohio’s permitting process. Ohio’s poorest residents should not have their health put at risk in this manner,” according to the federal environmental justice mandate issued by Bill Clinton in 1994.

Others called for passage of Ohio HB 148 and SB 178, legislation that has been introduced into the Ohio House and Senate that would ban Class 2 injection wells.

Athens County resident and former County Commissioner Roxanne Groff summed up the meeting, “This meeting is government at it best, and the underground injection program in the state of Ohio is government at its absolute worst.”

Athens County Fracking Action Network, which requested the public meeting, is part of a statewide network of concerned Ohioans sending testimony to USEPA in an effort to get USEPA to revoke Ohio’s primacy over injection wells and seeking an Ohio legislative ban on Class II injection wells. Visit ACFAN’s injection well page for more citizen testimony.

Veteran forced Into fracking lease one day after Veterans’ Day

Columbus, Ohio, 11-12-13—Jim Huebner, Massillon resident and Vietnam Veteran, appeared in front of the Technical Advisory Council on Tuesday to express his objection to being forced into leasing his land to Everflow for oil and gas drilling, or mandatory pooled, as part of the Sisko 1 unit.

The six present council members, Mark Neese, John Ackerman, Steven Grose, Douglas Gonzalez, Brian Morley and Greg New all voted in favor to mandatory pool Jim and fourteen other people. All present members work directly with or have interest in oil and gas drilling operations.

During Huebner’s testimony, he expressed concerns about the proliferation of urban wells in the area, the aquifers that may be adversely impacted and preserving the neighborhood’s historical integrity.

Everflow’s leasing manager, Les Dundics state that all but about 5% of the properties in the proposed well location had signed leases. Chairman, Douglas Gonzalez implied he wanted to ensure the other 95% of the signers are able to “enjoy theirs” (mineral rights). He said, “better off being mandatory pooled and getting something for their minerals instead of nothing.”

Huebner rebutted to Gonzalez’s assertion that this was in everyone’s best interest. According to Jim, residents were told by land agents that they were better off signing because, if they didn’t sign, the company would take the land and they wouldn’t see anything. In an economically depressed area, Huebner argued that residents would be more apt to sign to get “something,” especially if they are led to believe they’re going to get big royalty payments. People are thus coerced into signing instead of entering a contract based on free will asserted Huebner. Furthermore, he informed the panel that there were a number of rental properties in the area, so some of the landlords signing don’t actually live on the grounds.

Les Dundics, representing Everflow, said that the company would not encourage or permit their agents to tell landowners they would take their land and that he would take appropriate action with his leasing agent. The company had a prior incidence in the area with a forged signature on a lease agreement and that leasing agent had since been removed.

At the end of Huebner’s testimony, he reminded the council that he was a veteran and retired park ranger very familiar with his rights. He asserted to the council that he believes a mandatory pooling is unconstitutional and a violation of his freedom to form or decline a contract. He said, “…this proceeding before a largely biased and pro-oil and gas panel, which reports to a biased and interested governor who has been paid so much by oil and gas companies, is an unconstitutional infringement on my civil rights. I may seek civil rights damages against the members of this panel individually and as agents of the state as this goes forward.” Huebner is upset that his land can be taken by a private entity without a condemnation proceeding.

Moving forward, the council will express their approval to the Chief. The Chief will review the information and issue an order or deny it. Huebner may file an appeal should the Chief move forward with an order.

Update: Commissioners set public meeting for Tuesday, Nov. 19, 7-9 p.m. at the Athens Community Center, E. State St., Athens in order to allow the public to voice its concerns about the K&H2 permit application, the Ginsburg well, and ODNR management of the injection well program.

From the Commissioners: “The Athens County Board of Commissioners will be holding a public meeting on the injection well application for a new well permit in Athens County for K & H Partners.    This meeting will take place on November 19, 2013 at the Athens Community Center on East State St. from 7 until 9 p.m.

Those wishing to speak are asked to keep their comments brief so that everyone will have an opportunity to talk.  Written comments will also be accepted.

Representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, K & H Partners and the media have been invited to attend.  If you have questions, please contact the Athens County Board of Commissioners at 740-592-3219.”

ACFAN encourages people to:

• Please bring written comments, which can be longer than the brief comments you may wish to present orally.
• Check out acfan.org injection well page for talking points: Injection Wells 101 and Ohio Primacy: Why USEPA must revoke Ohio’s authority over oil and gas waste disposal in injection wells.
• Feel free to address broader problems with ODNR regulation of injection wells in order to alert USEPA to its responsibility to revoke Ohio’s primacy (authority) over the injection well program. See acfan.org for arguments.
• Please thank the Commissioners for responding to our request that they hold this meeting. This meeting can help us make USEPA aware of our community’s great concerns about ODNR negligence and ODNR refusal to grant a public hearing or listen to our concerns. Thank you!

Coverage in Athens Messenger, Tuesday, Oct. 29, by Steve Robb, Messenger staff journalist:

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Sponsored by Appalachian Ohio Sierra Club, Athens Bill of Rights Committee, Athens Hills Community Supported Agriculture, Athens County Fracking Action Network, Better Together at Ohio University, Catalyst Cafe, The Chapel Apartments, Della Zona Pizzeria, Fluff Bakery, Green Edge Gardens, Herbal Sage, Interfaith Impact, Laurel Valley Creamery, Mushrooom Harvest Produce Supply, O’Chocolate, Purely American Foods, Rich Gardens, Ridge Runner Coffee, Sassafras Farm, Snowville Creamery, Starline Organics, Sticky Pete’s Maple Syrup, Thursday Supper, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens, and United Campus Ministry

Update: Commissioners will host a public meeting for Tuesday, Nov. 19, 7-9 p.m. at the Athens Community Center, E. State St., Athens, on injection wells:

“The Athens County Board of Commissioners will be holding a public meeting on the injection well application for a new well permit in Athens County for K & H Partners. This meeting will take place on November 19, 2013 at the Athens Community Center on East State St. from 7 until 9 p.m.

Those wishing to speak are asked to keep their comments brief so that everyone will have an opportunity to talk.  Written comments will also be accepted.

Representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, K & H Partners and the media have been invited to attend.  If you have questions, please contact the Athens County Board of Commissioners at 740-592-3219.”

ACFAN notes in preparation for meeting:

Please bring written comments, which can be longer than the brief comments you may wish to present orally.

Check out acfan.org injection well page for talking points.

Please feel free to address broader problems with ODNR regulation of injection wells in order to alert USEPA to its responsibility to revoke Ohio’s primacy (authority) over the injection well program. See acfan.org talking points for arguments.

Please thank the Commissioners for responding to our request that they hold this meeting. This meeting can help us make USEPA aware of our community’s great concerns about ODNR negligence and ODNR refusal to grant a public hearing or listen to our concerns. Thank you!

Athens Messenger, Tuesday, Oct. 29:

By STEVE ROBB Messenger staff journalist

University of California, Irvine, press release:

UCI-led study documents heavy air pollution in Canadian area with cancer spikes

Carcinogens detected in emissions downwind of ‘Industrial Heartland’

Irvine, Calif., Oct. 22, 2013 – Levels of contaminants higher than in some of the world’s most polluted cities have been found downwind of Canada’s largest oil, gas and tar sands processing zone, in a rural area where men suffer elevated rates of cancers linked to such chemicals.

The findings by UC Irvine and University of Michigan scientists, published online this week, reveal high levels of the carcinogens 1,3-butadiene and benzene and other airborne pollutants. The researchers also obtained health records spanning more than a decade that showed the number of men with leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was greater in communities closest to the pollution plumes than in neighboring counties. The work is a dramatic illustration of a new World Health Organization report that outdoor air pollution is a leading cause of cancer.

While the scientists stopped short of saying that the pollutants they documented were definitely causing the male cancers, they strongly recommended that the industrial emissions be decreased to protect both workers and nearby residents.

“Our study was designed to test what kinds of concentrations could be encountered on the ground during a random visit downwind of various facilities. We’re seeing elevated levels of carcinogens and other gases in the same area where we’re seeing excess cancers known to be caused by these chemicals,” said UC Irvine chemist Isobel Simpson, lead author of the paper in Atmospheric Environment. “Our main point is that it would be good to proactively lower these emissions of known carcinogens. You can study it and study it, but at some point you just have to say, ‘Let’s reduce it.’ ”

Co-author Stuart Batterman, a University of Michigan professor of environmental health sciences, agreed: “These levels, found over a broad area, are clearly associated with industrial emissions. They also are evidence of major regulatory gaps in monitoring and controlling such emissions and in public health surveillance.”

The researchers captured emissions in the rural Fort Saskatchewan area downwind of major refineries, chemical manufacturers and tar sands processors owned by BP, Dow, Shell and other companies in the so-called “Industrial Heartland” of Alberta. They took one-minute samples at random times in 2008, 2010 and 2012. All showed similar results. Amounts of some dangerous volatile organic compounds were 6,000 times higher than normal.

The team compared the Alberta plumes to heavily polluted megacities. To their surprise, the scientists saw that levels of some chemicals were higher than in Mexico City during the 1990s or in the still polluted Houston-Galveston area. Read more…

Actions against fracking and injection wells took place in Ohio and around the world this week. In Columbus, Buckeye Forest Council, Columbus FracAction and more than 30 groups presented a letter to the governor’s office calling on Gov. Kasich to ban injection wells.

See heartwarming and heartbreaking photos from around the world at foodandwaterwatch.org, Globalfrackdown2 on facebook and the list of events at globalfrackdown.org. And a British report on the day. How many places are getting fracked! How many people are rising up! 

These events happened amid violence inflicted on native eastern Atlantic tribes in New Brunswick, Canada. The Elsipogtog tribe and allies  had been blockading seismic testing trucks. Lengthy video and commentary tell the story. And an update from Monday, 10-21, is here. Background and commentary on media coverage here.

Update 10/27: Four of six protestors jailed remain in jail. 

Solidarity events are occurring around the continent. Idle No More requests expressions of support for the arrestees and letters to New Brunswick premier, David Alward: premier@gnb.ca; ph: (506) 453-2144. Visit idlenomore.ca for details.

Meanwhile…

Yet another oil tanker train exploded and continues to burn in Alberta;

Another well blowout is attributed to nearby fracking operations on BLM land in New Mexico;

On Monday, Oct. 21, thousands rallied against Enbridge’s Line 9B tarsands pipeline in Toronto,

protestors of an oil lease auction in Brazil are injured by police firing rubber bullets into the crowd,

Truth-out reports on the tragic state of the Gulf three+ years after BP’s devastation,

a new report proposes that the Koch brothers stand to profit to the tune of $100 BILLION if Keystone XL is approved,

and an occupation is underway in Pittsburgh…

The on-going global assault by corporations and their government allies is clearly meeting global resistance to expose the lies and defend the earth. Please add your voice!

One of the largest onshore pipeline spills in recent American history — more than 865,000 gallons and five times the size of the Pegasus spill, this one of FRACKED OIL — was found in North Dakota on Sept. 29. The spill covers over 7 acres. The governor didn’t know about it for six days. The National Response Center didn’t report it until Oct. 8. The farmer said he expects to be able to use the land again for farming in a few years?!

The company’s reassurance that the fluids are contained and won’t affect groundwater sounds like Exxon’s claims that Pegasus bitumin didn’t get into Lake Conway. Will the FAA impose a no-fly zone in ND too?

Check out Yahoo News and Ecowatch or Desmog Blog articles for details.

Athens County Commissioners, State Senator Lou Gentile, and State Rep. Debbie Phillips request public hearing on K&H2 mega-well permit application. Over one hundred letters protest application.

Athens, OH Sept. 14, 2013 –– Athens County Commissioners, State Representative Debbie Phillips, and State Senator Lou Gentile were among 108 letter writers requesting a public hearing on a new Athens County injection well permit application to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The Commissioners’ letter states, in part, “It appears to us that this is a seriously deficient application that will not prevent pollution of land, surface water and drinking water sources as required by Ohio Administrative Code 1501:9-3-04.” The letter cites Ohio Administrative Code requiring a public hearing: “The Board of Commissioners feels that there are substantive and relevant concerns regarding the public health, safety, and environmental conservation. These concerns merit a public hearing because Ohio law requires that the Chief grant a public hearing if ANY comments are substantive and relevant to health, safety, or good conservation practices. (OAC 1501:9-3-06 (H)(2) (c)).” [emphasis in original] The letter goes on to cite concerns raised by Athens County Fracking Action Network in their entirety. These and the Commissioners’ and other letters are posted at acfan.org.

The K&H2 application requests a permit for an injection well that could inject up to 4000 barrels (168,000 gallons) a day of waste. The maximum daily limit would make this well the largest in Ohio and more than triple the amount of waste potentially injected into the rural SE Ohio area around Torch, where K&H1 can now receive 1500 barrels a day. The newly permitted Atha well on nearby State Rt. 144 has also been observed receiving many truckloads a day.

The Commissioners and other letter cite the following deficiencies among many:

• “The application states, ‘K&H #1 Unloading and Containment Facility will be used for the #2 well.’ There is no schematic or description of this facility, built for K&H Partners #1 well. How does this existing facility get evaluated by the public? How does the public know the facility’s capacity for containment and mitigation?
• How can a maximum psi also be an average as stated in the public notice?
• How can the average psi be zero as listed on this application? This is a serious and substantive concern with this application that will affect public health, safety, and environmental conservation, given that the permit application allows up to 4000 barrels a day of injectate, or 60,000,000 gallons a year, more than 10% of the total amount injected into over 170 Ohio Class II wells in 2012. Together with the allowable volumes in the nearby K&H1, the volumes permitted into the land near Torch and the Ohio River come to more than 83 million gallons a year, more than 125 Olympic size swimming pools worth of fluids ANNUALLY AND WITH NO LIMIT EVER, YEAR AFTER YEAR. This application does not and cannot support the Division’s legal mandate to require that this operation will not pollute groundwater or surface water or area drinking water supplies. (OAC 1501:9-3-04; 40 CFR 144.12)”

Letter writers also question “the unrealistically low maximum psi, given the high volumes that can be injected daily into non-porous shale through a 2 3/8″ tube.” They fear that “the psi will likely be increased after the permit is granted as occurred in Youngstown, where levels of 2500 psi were eventually allowed and earthquakes occurred.”

Recent peer-reviewed science on association of the Youngstown earthquakes with injection well pressure and volume is cited, and the timing of seismic activity addressed:

“The 5.1 quake in Oklahoma linked to injection wells occurred years after initial injection, and in Colorado, ‘the largest earthquake (Mw 5.2) occurred on 10 April 1967 more than a year after injection ceased on February 1966 [Healy et al., 1968].’”[1]

Since seismic activity can happen long after pressures are reduced, letter writers state that “reducing pressure at that point may be too late to prevent future quakes.” The letters go on to request, “Given that nearby Washington County has experienced recent earthquakes associated with increased deep well activity and that Youngstown, which had never experienced quakes, had close to 100 earthquakes associated with injection wells,[2] please provide to the public, in a manner in which the public can respond before a permit is issued, evidence used to determine that seismic testing was not necessary for this well and the peer-reviewed science on which this determination was made.” No seismic survey or explanation of its absence accompanies the application.

Letter writers cite federal law and question Ohio’s primacy, or authority, to regulate its own injection well program: “Ohio is required to protect drinking water sources per 40 CFR 144.12. Primacy is based on being able to fulfill this requirement. If Ohio did not have primacy over its UIC – underground injection well control program – and a USEPA permit were required, K&H Partners would be subject to USEPA Region 5 Commercial Class II well permit requirements because K&H Partners will be injecting waste that it does not produce. (epa.gov/r5water/uic/forms/commercial.htm)  This USEPA Commercial Class II permit would mandate, among other requirements:

• Restrictions on injected fluids, approval of new sources…
• Restriction of fluids injected to a list approved by USEPA for injection into the commercial well and contained in the permit [Part III(D)];…
• Submission of quarterly analyses of samples taken from the location identified in the permit [Part II(B)(3)] for the normal brine constituents: sodium, calcium, total iron, magnesium, barium, sulfate, chloride, bicarbonate, carbonate, sulfide, total dissolved solids, pH, resistivity, and specific gravity,…”

Ohio does not require any of these USEPA reporting activities or restrictions.

USEPA is scheduled to conduct an audit of Ohio’s injection well control program within the next month.