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D&L well ban holds despite proposals
YOUNGSTOWN
D&L Energy has requested to reopen the North Star 1 well the state has linked to 13 earthquakes in the Youngstown area.
After reviewing the proposals from D&L, the state decided to allow the indefinite moratorium to remain in effect, said Carlo LoParo, an Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokesman. The state limits brine- injection wells to a maximum 8,000 feet deep. It also has banned wells within seven miles of the epicenter of the earthquakes.
The information presented by D&L was not about remedies to prevent future seismic activity but about testing the well, he said.
D&L suggested reopening the wells and recording the pressure of injection and then sending the data to the Ohio Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, according to the letter from D&L provided to The Vindicator by the ODNR.
The suggestions were designed to allow D&L to conduct the third-party testing. The company has been stating for months it wanted to prove its well was not the cause of the earthquakes.
The work suggested by D&L was designed to achieve these objectives:
Provide early warning of increased seismic activity to allow the company to take action to reduce any possible large seismic event;
Map the area in high resolution to understand the extent of seismic risk, according to D&L documents.
The point of the proposal made by D&L was to “map seismic activity to facilitate a clear understanding of the seismic risk,” according to D&L documents.
The companies D&L suggested for testing are excellent, said Vince Bevacqua, company spokesman.
“D&L will continue to work through the regulatory process,” he said. “The indefinite moratorium tells us what we’ll be doing for the next week, but it doesn’t say what we’ll be doing for the next month or six months.”
D&L will continue to work with ODNR, Bevacqua said.
The state has said episodes of injection wells causing earthquakes are rare, but evidence suggested that fluid from the North Star 1 disposal well seeped to the Precambrian level and intersected with a fault, causing movement along that line.
ODNR determined it is highly likely the North Star 1 well is linked to the earthquakes, LoParo said.
D&L has stated since the beginning that the company questions the state’s findings.
“ODNR makes its preliminary conclusions without conducting any testing at the North Star No. 1 well site. The agency appears satisfied to base its conclusions on the limited scientific data available from outside sources,” according to D&L’s statement responding to the ODNR report.
The company stated that every action taken at the well was done under ODNR permits and supervision.
Even before the state report that tied the North Star 1 well to the quakes, D&L Energy had stated it wanted to have a third party conduct geological and seismic studies near the well.