Court Orders Austin Master to Clean Up Martins Ferry Frack Waste
One month ago, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action seeking to force Austin Master Services (AMS), a radiological waste management solutions company operating in Belmont County, OH, to correct “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding the storage of oil and gas waste that he says threatens the Ohio River and Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply (see Ohio AG Sues Austin Master Services for Unsafe Storage of Wastewater). Media accounts report that AMS has stored at least 10,000 tons of fracking waste (drill cuttings) at the Martins Ferry facility. It’s rated to hold 600 tons. Yost requested Belmont County Common Pleas Court block AMS from receiving any more waste and order it to comply with its rating. The court granted both requests.
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Two of our favorite companies in the Marcellus/Utica, one a driller (CNX Resources) and the other an oilfield services company (Deep Well Services), have partnered in a joint venture, creating a new company called AutoSep Technologies. The new JV uses groundbreaking new technology developed in CNX’s New Technologies unit that targets flowback, the “junk” that comes out of the borehole for the initial month or two after a well is drilled and fracked. Flowback includes methane and other hydrocarbons, sand, water, and fracking chemicals. All of the junk needs to be cleared so the well can start producing clean gas or oil. CNX has found a way to clean the junk that captures the methane (doesn’t escape into the air), is cheaper than current methods, and (most importantly) is safer. The process is being patented.
On Friday, 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. ODNR “temporarily” suspended the operations of four fracking waste injection wells (the three K&H wells and one other) in Athens County last September (see 
Pennsylvania State Senator Katie Muth’s attempt to block a proposed frack wastewater treatment plant in Dimock (hours away from her own district) has bombed out yet again. Muth tried to challenge and block a permit for the plant, an effort which was mostly rejected in court in June 2022 (see 
In October 2019, Eureka Resources, which operates three frack wastewater treatment facilities in the Marcellus Shale (and is building a fourth facility in Dimock, PA), began extracting lithium from Marcellus wastewater at one of its plants in Bradford County, PA (see 
An injection well in Southington (Trumbull County), Ohio, is generating complaints. According to a news report from Youngstown TV station WFMJ, some of the neighbors claim when it’s warm outside, or when it rains, a strong odor emanates from the injection well. The well is located near a school and near homes. The local NAACP is making noise about it, claiming this is an “environmental justice” issue, meaning the well is racist. The left often trots out the racism argument when it’s losing in a bid to bully the other side to cave on a given issue. So we are immediately suspicious when we read about an injection well (a) causing odors, and (b) being an environmental justice issue.
The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) “temporarily” suspended the operations of four fracking waste injection wells in Athens County last September (see 
Martins Ferry (OH) Mayor John Davies continues to make noise about the currently shuttered Austin Master Services (AMS) frack waste processing facility in his city. Two weeks ago, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action seeking to force AMS to correct “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding the storage of oil and gas waste that he says threatens the Ohio River and Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply (see 
Yesterday, MDN reported that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action on Monday, seeking to force Austin Master Services (AMS) in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), OH, to correct “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding the storage of oil and gas waste that he says threatens the Ohio River and Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply (see 
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action Monday, seeking to force Austin Master Services in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), OH, to correct “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding storage of oil and gas waste that he says threatens the Ohio River (500 feet away) and Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply (1,000 feet away). Austin Master Services serves the Marcellus/Utica industry (and other industries) with radiological waste management solutions, including remediation, decontamination & decommissioning (D&D), and transportation. The company was bought by and is now a subsidiary of PA-based American Environmental Partners, Inc. (see 
In January, MDN brought you the good news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a plan by Catalyst Energy to convert an existing gas production well on Route 646 in Cyclone (Keating Township in McKean County, PA) into a shale wastewater injection well (see 
Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, next to an existing injection well. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see 
Score a (very) minor victory for the radicals of a Little Green Group (funded with money from Big Green groups) called Protect PT. Last October, a lawsuit brought by Protect PT against a second injection well planned for Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, had oral arguments before the state’s Commonwealth Court (see 
Here’s a story that escaped our radar…until now. Catalyst Energy, Inc., proposes converting an existing gas production well on Route 646 in Cyclone (Keating Township in McKean County, PA) into a shale wastewater injection well. The well would handle up to 30 truckloads of wastewater per day. The prospect of the traffic and location near some homes did not sit well with some local residents. However, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved the plan on Jan. 11, although it didn’t publicly announce the approval until Tuesday, Jan. 23.