Weathersfield injection well owners appeal ruling to Ohio Supreme Court

Staff report

WEATHERSFIELD

The owners of a closed injection well on state Route 169 in Weathersfield Township just north of Niles have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to hear an appeal of an earlier ruling keeping the well closed.

A 2014 Ohio Department of Natural Resources order to close the injection well owned by American Water Management Services followed a series of small earthquakes at or near the injection-well site in 2014, the largest being a 2.1-magitude event Aug. 31, 2014.

AWMS, a subsidiary of Avalon Holdings Corp. of Howland, filed the appeal Thursday. The Supreme Court can take up the appeal or refuse to hear it.

It’s an appeal of a July 31 decision by the Columbus-based 10th District Court of Appeals that agreed with the conclusions of the Columbus-based Ohio Oil and Gas Commission, which suspended the well’s operations pending further study by ODNR of how to handle injection-well-induced earthquakes.

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

ODNR officials have said in the past they do not comment on pending litigation and did not respond to a request to comment Friday.

The July ruling being appealed said all expert witnesses in the case testified the small earthquakes measured at or near the site in 2014 “were likely related” to the injection well’s operations. But no expert testified the earthquakes posed a danger to public health, safety or the environment.

The chief of the ODNR Division of Oil and Gas and the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission refused to allow AWMS to reopen until a new statewide policy regarding earthquakes induced by injection wells could be adopted and applied, the ruling said.

State officials have not said when such a policy is likely to be implemented.

“Until that policy is developed, it is not unreasonable, in light of the history of the wells in question, to conclude that the only safe amount of injection was zero, at least for now,” the July ruling said.

Attorneys for AWMS are members of the firm of Crabbe, Brown & James of Columbus and Thomas Wilson of Comstock, Springer & Wilson of Youngstown.