Citizen Portal
Sign In

ODNR: injection-well communication addressed; no confirmed impacts to groundwater reported

2231821 · January 5, 2025

Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts

Subscribe
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

In response to a committee question, ODNR said some injection wells communicated underground last summer, prompting shutdowns and changes to injection depth; the department reported no known impacts to groundwater or public drinking water.

Representative Rogers asked for a status update on an injection-well leak reported last summer.

Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said the department identified instances where injection wells “communicated underground” and that some wells were asked to shut down. She said ODNR has adjusted requirements in certain formations — including how deep injections must go — and that the department is not aware of any cases where those underground movements have affected groundwater or drinking water.

Mertz said ODNR continues to monitor subsurface conditions, has changed operational depth requirements in certain formations and has not observed subsequent similar problems since those modifications. The committee did not take formal action on the matter during the hearing.