Wednesday, March 28, 2012
By Karl Henkel
WARREN
The Environmental Review Appeals Commission today will issue a ruling against Warren-based Patriot Water Treatment LLC, shifting the lengthy legal battle back to Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Patriot, the nearly 1-year-old brine-wastewater treatment facility, had requested a stay, or hold, from ERAC on an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency permit.
That permit, issued earlier this month, effectively shuts down Patriot when it takes effect in April.
ERAC, an entity that hears and resolves appeals of state environmental matters, made the ruling Tuesday; commissioners need to sign the ruling today for it to become official.
Andrew Blocksom, Patriot’s president, said he was not surprised by Tuesday’s decision, which could lead to the shuttering of Patriot and cost 25 workers their jobs, but he was disappointed.
“It’s very, very challenging because to them, they don’t feel my business shutting down is imminent,” he said. “We could consider it financial death because people need jobs.”
An Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesman declined to comment on the situation.
In a separate but related issue, there is a Thursday deadline for the OEPA to respond to Patriot’s request for an injunctive hearing, and Patriot’s deadline to respond to OEPA’s request for dismissal.
That happens in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court; the pretrial hearing originally was scheduled for March 21 but was canceled by Judge Andrew Logan.
If Patriot is successful in obtaining a restraining order against OEPA, the agency’s newly enacted permit for the city of Warren, which does not allow it to accept fracking wastewater from Patriot, would be on hold.
Patriot also has an additional ERAC hearing next week dealing with the fact the company is regulated on the number of gallons of fluid it can treat per day.
The company believes it should be regulated on the number of pounds of solids it removes from untreated water.