Trumbull, Ashtabula township associations vote to ask Ohio Township Association for help

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

The Trumbull and Ashtabula counties township associations have taken their fight to increase protections for landowners near brine-injection wells to the next level.

The Trumbull Township Association approved a resolution last week to send the Ohio Township Association a list of 11 changes to Ohio law that township officials believe will better protect property values and the environment.

The Ashtabula County Township Association voted last month to recommend the additional protections, said Dominic Marchese, a Johntown Township trustee.

Several other counties also are reviewing the 11 proposed changes written by the Trumbull association and eventually may join with Trumbull and Ashtabula counties, Marchese said.

Trumbull County leads the state with 19 brine- injection wells, and most of the brine they accept comes from Pennsylvania gas and oil wells, Marchese said.

The 11 changes include ones that would limit the hours of operation of injection wells so that tanker truck drivers are not allowed to unload brine in the middle of the night at unmanned facilities, where spills could occur, Marchese said.

Another would require wells to be set back from homes and other properties and to require water and air testing at the sites to protect nearby property owners, Marchese said.

Until more protections are in place, the Trumbull Township Association wants a moratorium placed on new injection wells in Ohio, Marchese said.

Property owners near injection wells deal with lots of real and potential environmental problems but get nothing in return, such as royalties or signing bonuses, Marchese said.

“We’re fighting our own government,” Marchese said, adding that where injection wells are concerned, state representatives and senators seem to be more concerned about the wishes of lobbyists than the people who elected them.

The Ohio Township Association has lobbyists and works on behalf of townships, said Matt DeTemple, executive director of the association.

When the association receives the resolutions, they will be taken before the association’s board of directors for a determination of whether to take action on them, DeTemple said. So far, the association has not received anything, DeTemple said.