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ODNR ruling snarls Patriot Water Treatment facility
By Karl Henkel
WARREN
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ decision not to renew the city of Warren’s brine-water permit could potentially spell trouble for the new Patriot Water Treatment facility.
Patriot, the 5-month-old plant that accepts wastewater from Marcellus Shale drillers won’t be able to send pre-treated water to the Warren wastewater treatment plant beginning next year.
The ODNR, in a letter sent to the city this week, said it will not renew the city’s brine water permit when it expires in early 2012, citing a statute in the Ohio Revised Code.
It cites section 1509.22, which “strictly limits” the options for disposing brine from the production of oil or gas.
Chris Abbruzzese, spokesman for the Ohio EPA, said Patriot will have to find different ways to dispose of the pre-treated water, such as using it for road surface application or injecting it into an underground formation.
Abbruzzese said Patriot was able to treat brine water the past five months because it was not originally clear which entity had sole and exclusive authority in enforcing the Ohio Revised Code: The EPA or the ODNR.
But after further discussion between the two agencies, it was determined ODNR had the power to act.
Andrew Blocksom, president of Patriot, disputed that his company receives brine water. He insisted it only receives low salinity TDS water, or total dissolved-solids water and said it did not qualify as brine.
Matt Pitzarella, director of public affairs at Range Resources Corp., a Marcellus Shale driller in Pennsylvania, said TDS is a diluted form of brine, both essentially salt water; the EPA said TDS essentially contains “minerals, metals and salts.” It said that any liquid coming out of drilling wells would qualify it as brine.
Blocksom disputed the claim.
“We’re not taking brine water,” he said. “That’s the miscommunication.”
Blocksom also said he met with representatives from Gov. John Kasich’s office in Columbus late Thursday in hopes of working with them, the EPA and ODNR to rectify the situation.
“It’s a communication deal we’d love to deal with,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have a positive outcome.”
In the meantime Blocksom said Patriot will continue to run as usual. It has quickly grown to 45 employees, and Blocksom said the company could eventually expand to employ as many as 400.
Tom Angelo, director of Warren’s wastewater plant, did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The ODNR’s announcement comes a month after the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection called on companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale natural-gas formation to stop taking wastewater to 15 treatment plants.