Bob Downing reports in the Akron Beacon Journal that a tip led to inspectors witnessing more than 20,000 gallons of oil and gas waste being intentionally dumped into a Youngstown storm drain accessing the Mahoning River. The coverage concludes,
“State Rep. Robert F. Hagan, D-Youngstown, knocked two state agencies for their handling of the illegal dumping in Youngstown.
He asked the Ohio EPA and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources why local officials had been ‘left in the dark regarding this alarming incident.’
He said he is ‘severely disappointed’ in the response from the two state agencies.
He called for all relevant information on the dumping be made available to the public immediately.
Hagan, in a letter he released on Tuesday, said he is ‘appalled by not only the recklessness of the illegal dumping but also the secrecy and lack of communications and transparency surrounding the incident.’
He asked EPA Director Scott Nally why it took his agency four days to issue what he called ‘a cursory statement that provides little detail or insight into the dumping fiasco.’
Hagan also questioned why more than 20,000 gallons of drilling wastes would be present at a closed-down injection well.
Why that waste was at the site is ‘a mystery that is both puzzling and extremely alarming,’ Hagan said.
He noted that the D&L Energy Group that owns the injection well off Salt Springs Road has been cited for 120 environmental and regulatory violations at 32 injection wells in Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
The well was closed in late 2011 after it had triggered more than a dozen small earthquakes in the Youngstown area.”
WYTV reports that as much as 40,000 gallons may have been dumped. Crews are still trying to “clean it up.”
A WKBN report of Feb. 8 cites a month of tips about dumping prior to authorities putting a halt to the practice and states that Lupo was not licensed to haul “brine.” [sic]
Business involved had 120 previous violations:
Update at Vindy.com Feb. 9, 2013: One of Lupo’s many businesses has been shut down. The others continue in operation; the owner has not been charged or arrested. The mayor of Youngstown “said he is ‘shocked’ the state gave permits to D&L, which has at least 120 violations at 32 injection and extraction wells in Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to a 2012 investigation by The Vindicator.”
Details of some of these violations published by Vindy.com, Feb. 10:
“In November 2011, according to ODNR records, a well site in Coitsville where D&L was operating was found to be leaking drilling mud, used to help keep drill bits clean and cool during the drilling process, into an open field near a body of water.
In another instance, in 2004, a well site in Portage County’s Shalersville Township was discovered to be the home of three storage tanks —filled with oil and brine — that had overflowed beyond protective dikes designed to contain such a spill.”
And from Tribtoday.com, Feb. 9, 2013: Clean-up continues with no end in sight and the confessed culprit walks free:
“…State Rep. Robert Hagan, who has been vocal with his anger about the incident, isn’t happy with the speed of the investigation.
Hagan, D-Youngstown, fired off a letter Friday to the Youngstown city prosecutor questioning whether she plans to file charges.
Hagan also pointed out that while Lupo remains free, seven citizens had been arrested on the spot during a 2011 protest at the Salt Springs Road property.
They were arrested and charged by the Youngstown city prosecutor for disorderly conduct after peacefully exercising their constitutional right to assembly, Hagan said. ‘Meanwhile, the man who has committed an egregious violation of state and federal environmental regulations – putting our community and our families at risk – has so far suffered no legal repercussions,’ Hagan said. ‘Something is terribly wrong with that picture.'”
More at Youngstown Business Journal Daily.