Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | DeepRock Disposal | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Washington County (OH) | Wastewater
OH Court Signals Dismissal of Lawsuit Against 2 Injection Wells
Last November, the Buckeye Environmental Network, backed by lawyers from the controversial Earthjustice, sued the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) over permitting two new shale wastewater injection wells in the Marietta area, claiming the standard used to evaluate the wells was old and out-of-date (see Antis Sue ODNR for Approving 2 Injection Wells Near Marietta, OH). The court involved, the Franklin County Court of Appeals, recently signaled it intends to dismiss Buckeye’s frivolous lawsuit. Read More “OH Court Signals Dismissal of Lawsuit Against 2 Injection Wells”
Just coming to light for us is a lawsuit filed in June 2025 seeking to hold DeepRock Disposal Solutions responsible for the $1.28 million cleanup of a 2021 environmental incident in Noble County. The incident involved fracking brine migrating from a DeepRock injection well into the inactive Gant Well, triggering a massive eruption that contaminated local waterways and killed a couple of hundred fish and salamanders (see 
In January, a coalition of so-called environmental groups lodged an ethics complaint against Ohio Senator Brian Chavez, alleging that he failed to disclose ownership in five natural gas LLCs while leading the Senate Energy Committee (see 
Since August, we’ve reported about an ongoing war of words between the City of Marietta officials (mostly Republicans) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) over a permit for a fifth wastewater injection well located close to the city (see 
The fight in Marietta, OH, over DeepRock Disposal Solutions’ plan to build a fifth shale wastewater injection well is getting heated. Opposition to the well has made for some very strange bedfellows. The Republican City Council is utilizing the legal services of the radicalized Earthjustice green group to challenge a permit issued by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which would allow the well in Marietta, OH (see 
Two weeks ago, Marietta, OH, officials, including the city’s Republican mayor, law director, water superintendent, and a majority of city council members, asked the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Oil and Gas Chief Eric Vendel to deny a permit application from DeepRock Disposal Solutions for the Stephan #1 injection well, which would be the company’s fifth injection well in the area (see 
Two weeks ago, Marietta, OH, officials, including the city’s Republican mayor, law director, water superintendent, and a majority of city council members, asked the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Oil and Gas Chief Eric Vendel to deny a permit application from DeepRock Disposal Solutions for the Stephan #1 injection well, which would be the company’s fifth injection well in the area (see 
The war of words continues. 
Two conventional oil producers in Southeast Ohio say dozens of their wells have been flooded with industrial waste (brine) from the fracking industry. They claim that nearby injection wells that handle frack waste/brine are leaking. State regulators agree that injection wells, at least at some locations, are leaking. Not only have these leaks (if true) affected oil wells, but there’s a concern they may be contaminating area water wells. 
In April, the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission upheld a regulatory order from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) suspending operations of three wastewater injection wells located in Torch (Athens County), OH, owned by K&H Partners, a subsidiary of Tallgrass Energy (see 
Two weeks ago, MDN told you about an odd situation in Ohio. DeepRock Disposal, an injection well company owned by a former member of the Ohio Oil & Gas Commission and current State Senator, Brian Chavez, leaked injected wastewater beyond its permitted boundary of a half mile into a non-functioning conventional well “miles away” (in Noble County) where the water came to the surface (see 
We have some super-exciting news to share–what we believe is an MDN exclusive. DeepRock Disposal Solutions has secured all of the necessary permits and authorizations it needs (over 30!), including authorization from the U.S. Coast Guard, to begin transporting shale (produced) wastewater via barge on the Ohio River. DeepRock will begin its barge service in first quarter 2021.
Two shale wastewater injection well companies, DeepRock Disposal and Fountain Quail Energy Services, have merged. The combined company is keeping the DeepRock Disposal name. The new entity is one of the largest SWD (saltwater disposal well) operators in the Appalachian Basin with 12 wells located in Ohio and West Virginia (with permits for several more). However, the bigger news (for us) is that DeepRock plans to offload barged frack wastewater–very soon.