"Anti-development groups joined forces yesterday to ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take control of Ohio’s Underground Injection Control program from the the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).  The groups including the Buckeye Forest Council, FrackFree Mahoning Valley and the Center for Health, Environment and Justice held protests and sent a letter to U.S. EPA requesting as much.  What these activists fail to realize, or don’t care to recognize, is that Ohio’s UIC regulations provide  broad authorities that exceed those in the federal program.  So, these activists have officially gone on record  seeking a more lax regulatory environment than what currently exists in Ohio.

According to a report from the Associated Press, the groups are seeking the change due to “recent federal indictments of a Youngstown-area businessman,” previous incidents in Youngstown linked to the same person and what they review as a “general lack of public responsiveness.”  Given these activists are seeking a more lax regulatory that will fall to a smaller workforce of inspectors its worth asking if their concerns are supported by the events they reference. So, lets take a look at the facts as they exist, not as they are imagined by some.

Brine Incident

In regards to the dumping incident, it’s worth mentioning the suspect was caught engaging in the illegal act because an ODNR employee responded swiftly to a public complaint.  This was noted in the Youngstown Vindicator on Wednesday, February 6th. Specifically, the Vindicator noted:

Both the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency received an anonymous tip late Thursday and were on the scene within three hours. They were able to obtain photographic  evidence of the dumping taking place,

That doesn’t sound like a “general lack of public responsiveness” to most folks.

In fact, federal charges were filed under the Clean Water Act within a week of the event taking place due to the swift action by investigators with ODNR and Ohio EPA.

Yes, that’s right charges were filed under the Clean Water Act.  The same legislation that the Center for Health, Environment and Justice says doesn’t apply to the oil and gas industry. In fact, on their website the group proudly touts efforts  ”to end dirty and dangerous fracking; closure of the seven legal loopholes that let frackers in the oil and gas industry ignore the…Clean Water Act,”

It’s also worth noting that the regulations being protested by the activists, as outlined in SB 165, allowed ODNR to revoke the suspected company’s  permits throughout the entire state.

So, in review. ODNR officials were on scene within three hours of recieving a tip of illegal dumping taking place. Due to their swift reaction they were able to gather photo’s of the event taking place which ultimately helped the U.S. EPA and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) file charges against the individual which, according to DOJ, could result in three years imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine.

Meanwhile, the injection well that was linked to previous seismic activity in Youngstown - along with four others in a seven mile radius – has been shut down under indefinite suspension for the better of a year."

HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING THE REST FOR HISTORY AND CHART COMPARISON: http://www.eidohio.org/groups-fail-to-see-ohios-uic-program-more-st...