OH Judge Orders ODNR to Allow Shuttered Injection Well to Reopen
American Water Management Services (AWMS) owns a wastewater injection well in Trumbull County that supposedly caused a low-level earthquake (that nobody could feel) in 2014. Two wells located at the site, both operated by AWMS, were “temporarily” shut down by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources following the quake (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake). One of the two injection wells was allowed to re-open, but not the other (see ODNR Clears Trumbull Co. Injection Well in August Quake). However, AWMS can’t open just the one well. They need to open both and operate both. The ODNR is supposedly crafting new regulations that will govern the offending well that may or may not have caused the low-level quake and a year-and-a-half later the ODNR has not released those new regs. Meanwhile, everyone at that operation is out of a job. AWMS appealed the closure and in December 2015, a county judge threw out the appeal (see Judge Tosses Appeal to Re-Open Trumbull, OH Injection Well). So AWMS appealed it to the next level up–the 10th District Court of Appeals–in January 2016 (see AWMS Appeals Decision Upholding Trumbull Injection Well Closure). We’re not sure where the Appeals Court case sits, but a county judge has just ordered ODNR and AWMS to submit paperwork that will allow the well to reopen. Soon. The judge is telling the ODNR, no more foot-dragging. Get it done, now…
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