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Vienna trustee seeks commissioners' support in quest for info on oil spill
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Vienna Township Trustee Phil Pegg asked the Trumbull County commissioners Wednesday for their support in his effort to have the Ohio Department of Natural Resources fully explain what caused the spill of 2,000 gallons of oil last month in Vienna.
The commissioners expressed support, saying they, too, are concerned about Trumbull County having possibly the highest number of brine-waste injection facilities in the state but getting nothing in return for the headaches they cause.
“We were elected to protect the people, but it hurts that the state has hamstrung us from doing that,” Commissioner Frank Fuda said.
“We’re concerned that so much brine is out there,” Commissioner Dan Polivka said.
The Kleese Development Associates injection facility on Sodom Hutchings Road leaked more than 2,000 gallons of “light waste oil” into the streams, ponds and wetlands near the facility.
Pegg said many of the holding tanks and the cement pad under them have been removed, and other changes are being made at the site, but he wants other changes before he’ll be comfortable with the facility reopening.
Pegg said he has talked with U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th; the ODNR; and recently toured the Kleese site. He wants to know why more than 2,000 gallons of fluid leaked from holding tanks and got past several layers of protection without anyone from the state noticing.
“How do you lose 2,000 gallons of any fluid?” he said, noting that under Ohio law, the ODNR has complete responsibility for policing the gas-extraction and brine-disposal industries with local officials having no control.
“The experts [at ODNR] obviously failed us in Trumbull County,” Pegg said.
A call to ODNR by The Vindicator on Wednesday afternoon was not returned. But an email from ODNR reiterated: “The spill in Vienna is still under thorough investigation, with inspectors and cleanup crews continually on site. ... ODNR will continue to update the residents and local leaders of our findings and if any further measures are to be taken.”
Pegg said for one thing, the only brine that has to be reported to the state is the brine that companies such as Kleese inject underground. Nobody keeps track of how much is off-loaded from tanker trucks. So, for example, nobody paid any fees to the state for the 2,000 gallons that were spilled.
And why is it required for landfills in Ohio to monitor water quality on their properties, but there is no such requirement on injection-well facilities, he asked.
Pegg said Kleese is “making progress” in fixing the problems that caused the spill, though he’s been told it still will be a while before it is allowed to reopen.
But he’d like the ODNR to commit to having a hearing in a neutral site such as the ODNR offices in Akron, so the state can fully explain what caused the Kleese spill “and who’s responsible and how we can be sure this won’t happen again.”
Pegg said he and others would like a commitment from the county commissioners that they will support legal action if necessary to keep the facility closed until the public is satisfied the problems are fixed.
Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said he’s concerned that there is no “firewall” preventing injection wells from being close to schools or other areas that need special protection. None of the commissioners pledged specific support for legal action.
Jack Simon, who handles matters related to oil and gas for Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith, reported that the Trumbull County Township Association has selected Dominic Marchese chairman of a committee that plans to lobby legislators in Columbus for laws that will better protect counties in eastern Ohio that receive most of the gas and oil industry’s wastewater.
Pegg is also a member of the committee.