Patriot expansion remains on hold

By Karl Henkel | July 19, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

WARREN

A Warren company trying to expand throughout Northeast Ohio is still stuck playing the waiting game.

Patriot Water Treatment LLC, which likely will be out of work as soon as next year when Warren’s brine-water permit expires, continues to lobby environmental agencies to extend the permits.

The 7-month-old company disposes of pretreated water into Warren’s sewage system, where it is further cleaned.

Patriot President Andrew Blocksom said he had a chance to meet earlier this month with Scott Nally, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection agency, but said that a timetable for a possible decision still is unknown.

“We’re working with them now to try and find some way to be able to stay open and be able to move forward with the business,” Blocksom told The Vindicator.

Blocksom previously had met with Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials in June after the organization said it wouldn’t renew Warren’s brine-water permit, citing a statute in the Ohio law that “strictly limits” options for disposing brine from the production of oil or gas.

The decision has hindered Patriot’s ability to expand to three other locations in Steubenville, East Liverpool and Youngstown, at the old Ross Industrial Park. Blocksom said the four locations could support 400 to 600 jobs.

Local leaders, including state Rep. Ron Gerberry of Austintown, D-59th, have said they would work with environmental agencies to overturn ODNR’s ruling.

Blocksom hopes a resolution will be reached soon.

“We have all of the data and documents that say we should be open,” he said. “It’s scientifically proven that it’s safe. We should be able to stay open and create more jobs.”