Governor should order review of complaint by Patriot Water

Since taking office in January, Re- publican Gov. John Kasich has complained about Ohio’s business climate being undermined by what he says are unnecessary state regulations and uncompromising state agencies. In light of that position, which Kasich first articulated on the campaign trail last year, we expect that the administration will be actively involved in reviewing Warren-based Patriot Water Treatment’s complaint against the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Patriot has the backing of a handful of Mahoning Valley state legislators, who toured the facility recently and concluded that company President Andrew Blocksom had a strong case to make against ODNR,

At issue is the state agency’s ruling in May that will result in the city of Warren’s brine-water permit being revoked next year. That means the city’s wastewater treatment plant will have to stop accepting brine-treated water from the Patriot Water Treatment plant. The company receives brine-concentrated water from oil and gas production facilities, treats the water to remove the brine and then transports the cleaned water to Warren’s treatment plant.

But ODNR contends that state law “strictly limits” options for disposing brine created by the oil and gas industries. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which has come under withering attack from Gov. Kasich and Republican state legislators for what they perceive to be the agency’s anti-business stance, said Patriot will have to find other ways to get rid of the pre-treated water, such as using it for road surface application or injecting it underground.

However, company President Blocksom likened the state’s action to telling officials at General Motors Corp.’s Lordstown plant “they can build all the cars they want, but the cars can’t leave the building.”

What should be of particular interest to the Kasich administration is that the Patriot plant opened five months ago, reflecting an investment of millions of dollars, and has been treating about 100,000 gallons of water per weekday. However, the plant has the potential to treat a lot more water.

Future expansion

Blocksom says that if the plant is permitted to keep operating the way it is now doing — sending treated water to the city of Warren’s facility — there will be future expansion and more jobs created.

It is not surprising that Mayor Michael O’Brien makes the argument that the water from Patriot is just as clean as other water going into Warren’s facility, but an independent analysis is necessary. Environmentalists contend that the water being pumped into the Mahoning River by the city of Warren has more salt in it than is permitted by law.

This issue will not be resolved without an independent evaluation. That’s what the Kasich administration should pursue.

The question that needs to be answered is this: Does the treated water from Patriot that is again treated by the city still contain unacceptably high levels of brine?

A business in the Mahoning Valley is in danger of closing because of a state agency’s decision. Area legislators are well within their rights to not only seek a meeting with the heads of the ODNR and the OEPA, but with Gov. Kasich’s advisers to determine the facts and what can be done to keep Patriot in business.