Buckeye Environmental Network Environmental Organizer Bev Reed shows the location of injection wells across Washington County during Monday afternoon’s meeting at the Warren Community Water and Sewer Association. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

MARIETTA — Local residents, oil and gas well owners and township trustees gathered Monday at the Warren Community Water and Sewer Association office for a discussion with a state representative from northern Ohio about community concerns regarding brine injection wells, carbon capture legislation and threats those technologies may pose to water safety and public health in Washington County.

The meeting, organized with support from the Buckeye Environmental Network and Warren Water and Sewer, featured testimony from long-time oil and gas operators, environmental advocates and impacted residents. State Rep. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, attended, saying he planned to share the information from affected constituencies in a floor speech before the Ohio House.

Much of the discussion centered around migration of brine and hazardous waste from existing injection wells, a situation locals say the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has been slow to investigate or address.

Bob Lane, a former well operator from the region, shared testimony about abandoned wells leaking brine to the surface.

“They told us it wouldn’t come out of the ground,” he said. “Now we’ve got wells flowing on their own. Some of these were drilled before the state even kept records and never plugged.”

Warren Community Water and Sewer Association Trustee Steve Hutchinson, back, shares concerns about injection wells with Ohio state Rep. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, during a Warren Water & Sewer Association meeting Monday afternoon. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

Lane and others pointed to a 2020 study, funded by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, that confirmed brine from the Redbird Disposal Well in Washington County had spread to other oil and gas wells. Despite the findings, advocates say ODNR has failed to act on additional complaints or expand testing.

House Bill 170, which would shift regulatory oversight of carbon capture and storage, including Class VI injection wells, from the federal government to ODNR also raised concerns from attendees.

“The technology is experimental, the oversight is inadequate, and the consequences could be devastating,” said Bev Reed, an environmental organizer with Buckeye Environmental Network. “This bill is being rushed without a true understanding of the risks.”

Randi Pokladnik, a retired chemist with a Ph.D. in environmental studies, warned of the chemical consequences of injecting carbon dioxide into deep rock formations. She described scenarios in which injected carbon dioxide could acidify underground aquifers, dissolving metals and minerals into drinking water.

“This isn’t just a theoretical risk,” Pokladnik said. “Once carbon dioxide mixes with water, it forms carbonic acid and that can unleash a cascade of contamination.”

Randi Pokladnik, right, a retired environmental scientist, discusses potential ramifications from brine injection wells and carbon dioxide injections during Monday afternoon’s meeting at the Warren Community Water and Sewer Association. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

Pokladnik also described dangers from pipeline failures, citing situations where carbon dioxide leaks could displace oxygen, rendering entire areas inaccessible to emergency response.

Several speakers questioned the state’s ability to safely regulate the growing number of injection wells in eastern Ohio. Joe Wigal, who said his wells have been impacted by brine water, noted there are more Class II disposal wells in Washington County than in the entire states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Lane agreed, adding that approximately 90% of the brine waste from those states is shipped into Ohio.

“We’ve been calling Ohio the toxic toilet of the Midwest,” said Roxanne Groff, an environmental activist and former Athens County Commissioner. “Because they’re pumping toxic, radioactive waste from several states, states that have stricter laws than we do.”

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com.

Joe Wigal, right, discusses the brine water found in his wells during Monday afternoon’s Warren Community Water and Sewer Association discussion. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

Roxanne Groff, center, environmental activist and former Athens County commissioner, shares her concerns about injection wells during Monday afternoon’s meeting at the Warren Community Water and Sewer Association. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

Ohio state Rep. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, asks for community feedback regarding injection well sites during Monday afternoon’s Warren Community Water and Sewer Association meeting. (Photo by Gwen Sour)