Rules for injection wells far too weak, critics say

State says its proposals will protect against any ‘fracking’ waste problem

New rules intended to strengthen state oversight of “fracking” waste-disposal wells won’t do enough to protect Ohioans from man-made earthquakes and pollution, a coalition of environmental groups says.
That blanket criticism comes from comments the groups filed yesterday as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources brought its proposed regulations before a legislative committee for public review.
The rules would allow the state to demand seismic and geological tests before a disposal well could be drilled. They also would require constant monitoring of well pressures and automatic shut-off devices to help ensure that wastes won’t leak and pollute groundwater.
Thom Cmar, an attorney for the environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council, said the rules don’t actually require the seismic and geological tests. Instead, they give ODNR officials the option of ordering them.
“There are certain tests that should be required in every case,” Cmar said. “We can’t afford to have even a really small failure rate.”
Agency officials drafted the rules after a series of earthquakes that shook Youngstown late last year. The quakes, including a magnitude 4.0 temblor on Dec. 31, were linked to a disposal well that voluntarily shut down.
Rick Simmers, the chief of the agency’s oil and gas division, said the rules need to be optional so officials won’t have to order unnecessary tests. Seismic tests might not always be needed, he said, in areas where the location of underground faults is well-known and can be avoided.
“What we did was essentially create a toolbox,” Simmers said of the rules. “We’ll pull out the tools as appropriate for the site-specific application.”
The debate follows the oil and gas drilling boom that has created thousands of new Marcellus shale wells in Pennsylvania. A Utica shale boom is expected to create thousands of wells in eastern Ohio.
Drilling companies rely on fracking, a process that injects millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals underground, to shatter the shale and release the oil and gas. Fracking fluids frequently bubble back up with the oil and gas. Many wells also continue to produce salty wastewater called brine.
Ohio’s 171 disposal wells injected 12.2 million barrels of waste last year, 53 percent of which came from Pennsylvania and West Virginia shale wells. Twenty-three new wells are in varying stages of construction and startup, and the agency has applications to create an additional 29.
Cmar said the rules also should be changed to make companies immediately report any pressure problems and shutdowns to state regulators.
Trent Dougherty, an attorney with the advocacy group Ohio Environmental Council, said the new rules also should strengthen requirements for old oil and gas wells that companies can convert to disposal wells, to safeguard against leaks.
Agency officials insist that disposal wells are safe and argue that there have been no cases in which injected brine polluted groundwater since the agency started regulating the wells in 1983.
Simmers said many of the new rules would be among the toughest in the nation. Among them is a rule that would allow the state to issue a conditional permit and order a well plugged if initial tests reveal problems.
“I challenge you to find another state with that broad of an authority,” Simmers said.
The Department of Natural Resources will take comments on the rules through Aug. 31.


The Columbus Dispatch Thursday August 16, 2012 7:23 AM