Public comment period begins for Brookfield injection wells

Staff report

BROOKFIELD

Highland Field Services, which is proposing two injection wells for a location off state Route 7 near Merwin Chase Road, has announced that a public-comment period regarding the wells begins now and ends around March 28.

Injection wells force wastewater from the oil and gas industry deep underground as a means of disposal.

Highland, of Pittsburgh, was required to publish a public notice in a daily newspaper for five consecutive days starting Thursday, but the notice will not appear in The Vindicator because of the specifics of the state requirements, Highland said.

The notice will appear in another newspaper, but The Vindicator has reproduced the language of the notice below.

Rob Boulware, manager for stakeholder relations for Highland, said in a press release that the company’s application for the two wells is “moving through the review phase with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.”

The notice instructs interested parties wishing to comment or object to the wells to direct their comments to the ODNR within 15 calendar days of the final legal notice.

The address to send comments is:

Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, 2045 Morse Road, Building F-2, Columbus 43229-6693.

Sherry Smith, a resident of the Wyngate Manor manufactured home community on Route 7, which is very close to the proposed location of the wells, told a crowd attending Monday’s Brookfield Township trustees meeting that she is organizing a petition campaign to oppose the wells.

The trustees also wrote a letter to ODNR opposing the project on the grounds that it might contaminate well water, produce earthquakes and increase traffic on Route 7.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Highland Field Services LLC is applying to permit two wells for the injection of brine water produced in association with oil and natural-gas extraction. The location of the proposed well is Highland Brookfield #1 at lot 40, Brookfield.

The proposed well will inject into the Knox through Rome Formations at a depth of 7,600 to 8,750 feet. The average injection is estimated to be 5,000 barrels per day. The maximum injection pressure is estimated to be 1,750 psi.

Further information can be obtained by contacting Highland Field Services LLC, , 5800 Corporate Drive, Suite 300, Pittsburgh 15237, 412-548-2533, or the Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 2045 Morse Road, Building F-2, Columbus 43229-6693, 614-265-6922.

For full consideration, all comments and objections must be received by the Division, in writing, within 15 calendar days of the last date of this published legal notice.