Patriot Water still under the gun from ODNR and EPA

The Ohio Environmental Protec- tion Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources understand, we would think, that brine spread on the state’s highways works its way into the ground and nearby streams and rivers. And yet, the position of the these two agencies is that it is more acceptable for Patriot Water Treatment of Warren to arrange to have the water that it pretreats from oil- and gas-drilling sites spread directly on the roads than be sent to Warren’s water-treatment plant.

Or in the alternative, untreated water could be pumped into injection wells, where it can infiltrate Precambrian rock and provide a dandy lubricant for any faults that may exist. What happens then? An earthquake.

We suggested more than a year ago that the state stop rewriting the rules under which Patriot had been given permission to treat fracking waste to remove the most objectionable pollutants before sending the water through Warren’s treatment plant for final disposal.

Year-long battle

For more than a year, 0DNR and the EPA have held that Patriot can’t send its water to Warren’s plant. Patriot argues that it had been given permission to do so and that state officials were changing the rules after the fact.

Last week Patriot appeared to win its case before the Environmental Review Appeals Commission, which resolves appeals resulting from technical and legal final actions taken by various state officials, including the director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Patriot began gearing up for full operations. Laid-off employees were recalled. The city was ready and willing to accept treated water from Patriot. And the EPA responded by saying the appeals ruling was irrelevant; the Warren plant can’t accept brine water of any kind. And the ODNR decides what can and can’t be done with by-product water from drilling sites.

So Patriot can treat all the water it can hold until the snow flies — and then it can be sprayed as if it were the salt of the earth. Or untreated water can be pumped deep into the ground, lost forever. But Patriot dare not treat it and let the city of Warren treat it again before putting it in the Mahoning River.

And somehow that makes perfect sense in Columbus.