Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Injection Wells topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
ODNR: injection-well communication addressed; no confirmed impacts to groundwater reported
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.
