Editor's Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated who appointed Chavez to the Ohio Senate. Republican Senators picked Chavez for an empty Senate seat in 2023.
Injection wells owned by Ohio Sen. Brian Chavez leached brine, an often toxic liquid byproduct of fracking, underground in Noble County miles past where it was permitted to for years, according to state records.
On five occasions since 2010, that liquid burst to the surface through other companies' dormant oil and gas wells — in one instance contaminating a stream, killing wildlife and requiring a $1.3 million state cleanup effort — according to records from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Jake Zuckerman of Cleveland.com first reported this month on the leaks attributed by ODNR to one of Chavez’s multiple oil and gas companies, Deeprock Disposal Solutions, and how Deeprock has not been asked to foot the $1.3 million bill for a January 2021 cleanup.
The Department of Natural Resources has ordered Genesis Resources, the company that owned the dormant well that leaked, to pay.
Genesis Resources appealed the department's order to the Oil and Gas Commission, a five-member panel appointed by the governor. After arguments before the commission earlier this year, a decision on that appeal is pending in the coming weeks.
Hydraulic fracturing, often called fracking, involves injecting liquid mixtures at high pressure thousands of feet underground to create cracks in rock formations, allowing gas or oil, as well as trapped water (brine) to flow. That brine can be toxic and contain radioactive elements and Ohio prohibits well operators from allowing brine to pollute the surface.
While production wells, like Genesis’ idled Noble County well, produce oil and gas, injection wells, like the two wells Deeprock owns in Noble County, dispose of fracking waste like brine deep underground.
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John Fortney, a spokesperson for the Senate Republicans, told The Dispatch that questions about responsibility and liability for the 2021 leak are better suited for the party ODNR has found responsible for brine reaching the surface.
“As an expert in the field, a former member of the Oil and Gas Commission, and as a responsible operator, public and environmental safety are paramount to Senator Chavez,” Fortney said in an email. “From petroleum engineers to the welders on a platform, these hard-working professionals have families who also want clean air and water. And as someone who works and lives around these wells, Senator Chavez demands the same for his family, neighbors, and constituents.”
Chavez, of Marietta, sat on the state Oil & Gas Commission after Gov. Mike DeWine appointed him in June 2021 until Ohio Senate Republicans chose Chavez for a vacant Senate seat in December 2023.
In motions filed with the Oil and Gas Commission, lawyers for ODNR have argued “the origin of the fluid that erupted from (Genesis’) well is irrelevant.”
“Regardless of where the fluid came from, Genesis was and is still obligated to either maintain or plug its own (well) to prevent a surface leak from occurring. Having failed to do so, Genesis must reimburse the Division for cleaning up the leak from its well,” ODNR lawyers wrote.
Kevin M. Maloney, a Columbus-based attorney representing Genesis Resources and its insurer, conceded that Genesis had not plugged its inactive well as required by Ohio law. Maloney told The Dispatch the owner could not afford to and Genesis was not the primary cause of the 2021 leak.
“(Genesis) is not totally clean and I’m not claiming they are,” Maloney said. “But why isn’t the responsible party being held responsible? It’s clear to me they’re protecting Deeprock’s owner.”
Five leaks at Deeprock's Noble County wells since 2010
In 2010, 2013, 2019, 2021 and 2023, idled production wells near Deeprock’s two Noble County injection wells leaked brine, according to ODNR records. The leaks happened between about 1.5 miles and 5.5 miles away from Deeprock’s two wells in Noble County. Deeprock’s permits only allowed its wells to dispose of brine and other fracking byproducts within a half-mile radius.
After the fifth area well leaked in January 2023, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources attributed all five incidents to Deeprock’s two wells in Noble County and suspended its operations there, according to an order by ODNR.
The leak in January 2021 through Genesis’ well was particularly disastrous. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of brine sprayed through Genesis’ well to the surface, contaminating a nearby stream and killing 400 fish and other wildlife, according to records from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
ODNR spent nearly $1.3 million plugging the leak and mitigating the damage, including by removing more than 362,000 gallons from the stream.
Karina Cheung, an Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokesperson, said there is no reason to believe any drinking water in Noble County has been contaminated by any of the leaks as there are no mapped groundwater wells within a half-mile radius of the dormant wells that leaked.
In January 2023, ODNR formally ordered Genesis to reimburse the state agency for the cleanup and a month later, Genesis appealed that order to the Oil and Gas Commission, which Chavez sat on at the time.
In June 2023, the commission decided 4-0 to deny Genesis Resources’ request to stay the order while the commission reviews the case. Chavez recused himself for that vote.
jlaird@dispatch.com
@LairdWrites
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: A state senator's fracking waste wells leaked. State paid $1.3 million to clean one spill.
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