Troy Township residents have a controversial new neighbor — a recently permitted injection well — and the possibility of several more in the coming years.
The K & H Partners LLC injection well, located on N. Cincinnati Ridge Road in Coolville, was permitted on Nov. 11 and has been inspected at least eight times since, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources records.
The well is still under construction and is not operating yet, said Bethany McCorkle, ODNR spokeswoman. She said it is up to the well owner, K & H Partners LLC, to decide when it will start accepting brine, adding that ODNR inspectors are notified at each step of the construction process.
Several new injection wells have been proposed in the area, said Dorothy Rader, a Troy Township resident.
Rader said she started researching injection wells in Athens County after she saw larger tanker trucks labeled “waste” driving in her area.
“We’ve been trying to find out where all the waste is coming from out of state,” she said.
Although Rader has a gas well drilled on her property that her family uses for cooking, which she said they are dependent on, she added she is more worried about the injection wells and out-of-state fracking waste.
“I could understand having to dispose of Ohio waste, but I hate to be the dumping grounds of every state there is and just build wells to take their waste,” she said.
Injection wells in Athens County have been a major source of controversy in recent years, with some residents claiming they are dangerous and unsafe.
Roxanne Groff, former county commissioner and member of the Athens County Fracking Action Network, said many people are concerned about the safety of the injection wells.
“There is a lack of communication between the Division of Oil and Gas and the public, who are asking questions,” Groff said.
Rader said that in addition to a gas well, her family also utilizes a well for water, which adds to her concern about the injection wells.
“I’m worried that out-of-state waste would somehow seep into the ground and contaminate my well,” she said.
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