Austin Master Services Cleanup in Martins Ferry One-Third Complete
In July, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) opened up the shuttered Austin Master Services (AMS) radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio, to begin cleanup work at the facility (see Flurry of Activity at Austin Master Services Site in Martins Ferry). AMS is permitted by the ODNR to temporarily store up to 600 tons of fracking waste, like shale drill cuttings and wastewater. ODNR estimates there were some 10,000 tons of fracking waste at the site. AMS ran out of money, and vendors quit accepting the waste. After failing to meet a court-ordered deadline, ODNR stepped in to handle the cleanup. A local TV station is reporting one-third of the cleanup job is now completed. The facility is supposed to be completely cleaned up by May 2025. Read More “Austin Master Services Cleanup in Martins Ferry One-Third Complete”
In January, MDN told you about a long-closed landfill that seeks to reopen in Liberty and Pine Townships in Mercer County, PA (see 
In late July, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) opened up the shuttered Austin Master Services (AMS) radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio, to begin cleanup work at the facility (see 
In January, MDN told you about a long-closed landfill that seeks to reopen in Liberty and Pine Townships in Mercer County, PA (see 
In January, MDN told you about a long-closed landfill that seeks to reopen in Liberty and Pine Townships, in Mercer County, PA (see 
Researchers with the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) recently published a study in the journal Ecological Indicators. The study’s intent was to measure whether or not frack waste dumped in local landfills has radiation that is leaking out in groundwater (leachate) from those facilities. Research like this, if legitimate (and accurate), is a good thing. We need to know if the waste we’re dumping is causing a problem. But a funny thing happened during the study. The researchers found a big problem with recordkeeping.
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced a consent order assessing a $600,000 fine against a trucking company that hauled drill cuttings from West Virginia and dumped them (without a permit) at several sites owned by the trucking company in Fayette County, PA. The unsanctioned dumping happened between the years 2012 and 2015.
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently held two public hearings about a plan by the Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill in Westmoreland County, PA (southwestern corner of the state, near Pittsburgh) to build a gas-fired leachate evaporator. Leftist anti-drillers showed up to bash the proposal citing the landfill accepts shale waste, claiming the leachate is radioactive because of the shale waste and will contaminate everything if it’s burned. DEP plans to approve the temporary operation of an evaporator for 180 days to process 45,000 gallons of leachate per day.
American Energy Partners, Inc. (AEPT), based in Allentown, PA, is a small but diversified company. They have their fingers in a number of different oil and gas pies, including subsidiaries in drilling, remediation, water, valuation services, and education. Add one more to the list: radioactive waste. AEPT recently announced it has purchased Austin Master Services, a company that services the Marcellus/Utica industry (and other industries) with radiological waste management solutions, including remediation, decontamination & decommissioning (D&D), and transport.
MAX Environmental has operated the Bulger hazardous waste landfill in Smith Township (Washington County), PA since 1958. MAX has operated a second site, the Yukon hazardous waste landfill in South Huntingdon Township (Westmoreland County), PA since 1964. One of the primary customers for both landfills over the past 15 years has been the Marcellus industry–dumping drill cuttings (leftover dirt and rock from drilling). In 2019 MAX filed a request with the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to “delist” both sites as hazardous landfills, given what they accept is not hazardous. Some of the neighbors along with various Big Green groups object to the change in classification.
Yesterday PA Gov. Tom Wolf grabbed some headlines by having his Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announce they will “soon” begin to require *all* landfills in the state to test leachate (water with nasty stuff in it that comes from landfills) for radioactivity. The Wolf DEP press release takes great pains to point out the new testing includes landfills “that accept unconventional oil and gas waste.” Which is the purpose of the announcement. To plant the seed that maybe, just maybe, drill cuttings are causing folks to glow in the dark. Radiation poisoning. Yet buried in the press release is this statement about a previous study of leachate from PA landfills with and without drill cuttings…
A “reporter” at the Columbus Dispatch has just published a hatchet job on a shale waste handling and processing facility located in Belmont County, OH. The facility is located (gasp!) a half-mile away from a high school and a hospital. It’s also located near the Ohio River and it handles (gasp!) “radioactive waste.” That’s how the article begins. It goes downhill from there, making wild claims of “overflowing barrels” of radioactive waste at the facility.
For the past seven years a privately-owned dump near Scranton, the Keystone Sanitary Landfill, has sought to expand in order to accept more garbage. The dump is also authorized to accept Marcellus Shale drill cuttings–rock and soil leftover after drilling. Yesterday the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced after seven years of study, hearings, meetings, and whatever else the DEP does to fiddle away the time, they have finally approved Keystone’s request to expand.