Judge: Youngstown well must remain closed
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A Youngstown-area wastewater injection well that’s at the center of a dispute over Ohio’s authority to regulate oil-and-gas operations will remain closed during litigation by judge’s order.
The Vindicator newspaper reported Judge Kimberly Cocroft on Aug. 18 denied a request that the Weathersfield Township be allowed to resume short-term operations while its legal appeal proceeds. Arguments are scheduled Nov. 1.
Well operator American Water Management Services disputes the legal authority of the oil-and-gas chief at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The company also claims state actions against its well, which disposes of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing, defy science.
At least 20 small seismic events occurred near the well in 2014. State regulators believe they tapped the same fault as a 4.0-magnitude quake in Youngstown in 2011.