Judge approves reopening of Weathersfield injection well at quake site
A well used to dispose of oil and gas drilling waste in Weathersfield Township could open again next year following a two year shutdown prompted by an earthquake recorded at the well site.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A well used to dispose of oil and gas drilling waste in Weathersfield Township could open again next year following a two year shutdown prompted by an earthquake recorded at the well site.
A Franklin County Court has given the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’' Oil and Gas Commission thirty days to reverse the shutdown order issued following a 2.1 magnitude earthquake on August 31, 2014.
The order follows an appeal filed by American Water Management Service which was initially ordered to shut down two deep brine injection wells along State Route 169 following the quake.
A shallower well was permitted to be placed back in service, but AWMS was ordered to keep the deeper #2 well out of service.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources regulates Class II Wells, which are used to inject fluids, primarily oil-field brine, into deep, underground geological formations for disposal or for secondary oil recovery.
Oil-field brine is a saline by-product generated during oil and gas well operations.
The decision, issued Friday by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Kimberly Cocroft, found no evidence that actions taken by the well operator rise to the level of any substantial violations, and found no basis to continue suspension of well operations.
The court order gives the Oil and Gas Commission thirty days to issue an order initially limiting the volume, amount of saltwater and brine that is being put into the well.
The commission has also been instructed to allow incremental increases in volume and pressure while monitoring for seismic activity and addressing concerns for public health and safety.
The judge wants the well operator and the Oil and Gas Commission to develop a plan to restart the well.
It is not the first time earthquake activity has been linked to injection wells in the Valley.
On December 31, 2011, a 4.0 magnitude earthquake was reported in Youngstown. Some research linked that tremor to a class II brine injection well which was closed as a result.
Earthquakes were reported in March 2014, when several tremors were recorded in the area of gas wells near the Carbon Limestone Landfill in Poland.
Five earthquakes were measured over the course of two days at that time.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey earthquakes of magnitudes between 1 and 3 are rarely felt by most humans.
The court order in its entirety may be read here.
