Trumbull commissioners ask governor to freeze injection-well permits

WARREN — The Trumbull County commissioners have approved a resolution calling on Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio Legislature to freeze the issuance of injection-well permits for three years, or until a list of suggested changes to state law are enacted to better protect property owners.

Injection wells dispose of brine, one of the waste products of the gas and oil industry.

The proposed changes to state law were written by the Trumbull County Township Association, which last week approved sending the list to the Ohio Township Association.

The Ashtabula County Township Association also passed a resolution recommending the list of 11 changes, said Dominic Marchese, a Johnston Township trustee and one of the chief proponents of increased regulation of injection wells.

Trumbull County has the most injection wells in the state, and 75 percent of the waste being transported to the wells comes from outside of Ohio, the resolution says.

Such injection wells “are poorly regulated and not monitored for contamination migration, it says.

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