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ODNR permits company to operate injection well in Brookfield
SEE ALSO: Residents are expressing concern over proposed injection wells
BROOKFIELD
The day that the state permitted a company to operate its injection well in Brookfield Township is a “day we were hoping would never happen,” said Dan Suttles, a Brookfield trustee.
“There is a residential community a stone’s throw to where they are injecting this poison,” he said.
Highland Field Services notified the Ohio Department of Natural Resources on Oct. 15 that it’s ready to commence injection operations at its No. 5 well.
The site of Highland’s five injection wells is off state Route 7, to the north and west of Wyngate Manor. It is just north of the fire station and just south of Merwin Chase Road. None of the five wells are operating yet.
Richard Simmers, the ODNR chief of the Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, responded Oct. 22 with an order that outlined 15 directives the company must follow to operate its No. 5 well, including having a cut-off switch that doesn’t allow the injection well to exceed 1,750 psi (pressure per square inch). The company is required to continuously monitor the structure to check for leaks and shut down if any are detected.
ODNR will provide the company with equipment to monitor seismic activity in at least three locations, and the company must provide ODNR with access to real-time seismic data.
Highland Field Service spokesman Rob Boulware declined to comment.
Steve Irwin, ODNR spokesman, said the order is the second approval in the permitting process and allows the applicant to begin disposing brine in one of its five wells. Disposal has not yet begun.
A Class II disposal injection well is used to inject fluids associated with oil and natural-gas production, primarily brines that are brought to the surface while producing oil and gas, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“The Chief Order notes that the injection well ... is not in violation of law, does not jeopardize public health or safety, and is in accordance with good conservation practices,” and is compliant with state code, Irwin said.
Irwin said there has been no known groundwater contamination caused by the injection of brine in a Class II disposal well since 1983, and Ohio laws meet or exceed the federal requirements for brine disposal.
“The Division has conducted over 40 inspections of the well,” Irwin said.
Some Brookfield citizens, however, remain concerned over the wells.
Jane Spies, environmentalist advocate, said Brookfield citizens intend to file an appeal.
Suttles, a former firefighter, said he is worried that firetrucks and ambulances that leave the station on Route 7 will be hindered by traffic or accidents caused by the trucks shipping the brine. Resident Gloria Douglas has the same concerns about people leaving the mobile home park, as Route 7 is the only entrance and exit.
“It’s wrong to have this in the community, waste being brought from other states,” Douglas said.
Suttles and Douglas are among citizens concerned about potential hazardous chemicals in the brine.
The 2015 chemical spill in Vienna at the Kleese Development injection well site, in which an investigation suggested a proper liner was not installed under a concrete pad to catch wastewater that escapes from the holding tanks, is fresh in Suttles’ mind.
“Our hands are tied. For the people that I took an oath to help, and I can’t help them because big business and ODNR are controlling the fate of Brookfield Township,” Suttles said.