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.