(A News and Sentinel Op-Ed - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Let’s pretend there’s a giant switch we could flip that would shut down all the injection wells in Southeast Ohio. Environmental activists will, of course, jump for joy. Susan Vessels might even calm down for a second. But what does it really mean?

It’s a thought experiment that needs to be played out. Because opponents are choosing politics over logic — disingenuously saying they’re for fracking, but against injection wells. Silliness. Injection wells don’t exist in a vacuum. They exist because energy production exists. The two are inseparable.

Let’s first cover what won’t change. Things won’t look much different on the surface. The impact of injection wells is relatively small. Net Zero America at Princeton University found that zero carbon energy will require immensely more land, and that hydropower, wind, and power lines occupy five times the area as natural gas production.

The brine won’t change either. That salty water doesn’t kindly evaporate because we ask it to. It’ll still be a byproduct of the fracking process.

The radioactivity won’t even change either. That’s because the buzz about radioactivity involved in the fracking process is naturally occurring. It’s not somehow created in saltwater and natural gas fusion. It’s there, and the injection well disposes of it in the responsible way recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

The final piece that won’t change? Washington Countians’ access to clean, safe drinking water. Injection wells are safe. Your drinking water is very near the surface. The brine water is injected through double walled pipes reinforced by concrete into solid rock formations thousands of feet below the surface. Quick reminder: There has never been one single instance of an injection well contaminating drinking water in Ohio’s history.

So, what will change? What are the consequences of a moratorium on injection wells? Economic catastrophe seems like a good place to start. The direct and indirect jobs tied to the energy sector go to Texas, Louisiana, or Oklahoma, where elected officials don’t fold to radicals and their propaganda. The restaurants, hotels, and other local contributors to the tax base shutter. County budgets get cut. School funding takes a hit. It goes on and on.

Opponents say they just want the well moved elsewhere. Let West Virginia or Pennsylvania handle it. Two things: First, transporting brine is costly and can prohibit investment in energy exploration. Second, if permitted injection wells are safe (and they are — it’s one of the most highly regulated industries in the nation), then the location and volume don’t matter. Our geology is a gift. The same rock layers that hold oil and gas also hold the deep formations suited for returning brine to where it came from. Just as supporting fracking and opposing injection wells is incongruous, so is saying you think injection wells are safe, but you’re worried about the amount of water injected.

Injection wells aren’t experimental. This isn’t some intimidating unknown technology looming at our doorstep. They’ve operated in Ohio for decades. They are approved under the strictest of guidelines, with Ohio’s rules surpassing the federal EPA’s requirements. The well sites are subject to constant monitoring and regular inspections. That’s responsible government. What isn’t responsible is asking our elected officials to over-regulate something that isn’t a problem. To be against injection wells because they might be a problem in the future would be to outlaw driving, or riding a bicycle, or walking down a sidewalk, because there’s a risk of something happening. That’s not how a society dedicated to freedom and liberty operates.

Marietta without injection wells might feel symbolically satisfying to leftist environmental radicals (and some local Republican radicals, too, apparently). But practically, that’s not a win for anyone else in Washington County. Eliminating injection wells doesn’t fix the imagined risks and takes us down the road of economic ruin.

We need injection wells because we need the fracking industry. We can be confident in our injection wells because they’re drilled under intense regulation, monitoring, and inspection. Because they’re safe. Your drinking water is as safe as taking a nice stroll down Putnam Street.

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Matt Dole is an advisor to the Accountability Project Institute.