Re-opening the valley well for injection under deep examination | News, sports, jobs

WEATHERSFIELD – AWMS Water Solutions of Howland, the company that owns two sewage and oil and gas injection wells along Route 169 in Weathersfield Township just north of the Nile, says the outcome of its case being heard by the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission will set a precedent in Ohio for regulations regulating seismic activity associated with injection wells.

Seismic activity refers to earthquakes generated by injection wells, which inject wastewater from the oil and gas industry deep into the earth as a means of disposal. The Ohio Oil and Gas Commission is reviewing the criteria set by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources under which the injection well will operate when it reopens.

On May 21, 2021, Eric Wendel, ODNR Head of Oil and Gas Resources, issued orders stating that after the AWMS well reopens, it must be closed again in the event of an earthquake of magnitude 2.1 or greater within a 3-mile radius. of the facility, as it did in 2014 shortly after it first opened.

“The AWMS should also decompress and not resume operations until a full assessment of the data from the seismic event has been done by the AWMS,” according to the orders. The requests indicate that they can be appealed to the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission — which the AWMS has done.

The company’s appeal focuses on the requirement to shut down the well again in the event of an earthquake of magnitude 2.1 or greater, which the AWMS found to be very restrictive.

An appeals hearing was held in Columbus in February, and the company and the National Emergency Management Office submitted follow-up notes in March in which they again discussed the criteria under which the well would be reopened.

The Ohio Oil and Gas Commission continues to review the cases but has not issued any rulings. AWMS Water Solutions, LLC. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Howland-based One American Way’s Avalon Holdings Corp.

Date

AWMS Well 2 was shut down in September 2014 after it caused multiple earthquakes, including a 1.7-magnitude quake on July 28, 2014, about two months after the well became operational, and a 2.1-magnitude quake on August 31, 2014, according to ODNR.

AWMS Water Solutions says the ODNR set the level at which the facility would be closed at 2.1 degrees “arbitrarily”.

The ODNR file states that it chose a grade of 2.1 because that is the level at which the community might feel an earthquake and raise safety concerns.

The company’s brief, provided by attorney Matthew Fansuch, cites testimony from a hearing in which expert ODNR witness and counsel Evan Wong testified that there was “nothing magical” about the 2.1 level chosen by ODNR. Vansuch is also a trustee of Howland Township.

Wong testified that when the 2.1-magnitude earthquake occurred on August 31, 2014, at or near the AWMS facility, it was felt by one person.

“That’s our threshold. You know, it doesn’t mean we have another 2.1 that nobody feels, but 10 people feel. You know, every earthquake is different,” according to the AWMS file, citing Wong. “But based on what happened in the well, we believe — you know, I told Chief (Vendl) I thought 2.1 was a reasonable limit.”

Fansush stated that testimony at the hearing and “accepted seismologists” are consistent in believing that people would not feel an earthquake of magnitude 2.5.

“None of these levels will cause the ground to shake such that there is concern about people or property,” Vansuch stated.

He added that it was important for the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission to set the level appropriately because “this case is important to set a precedent. If (the Commission on Oil and Gas) agrees to this low (2.1 score), which is lower than what most people normally feel, then The commission gives the department the green light to stop all oil and gas activities that can (and often do) cause the Earth to shake.”

He added, “Injection, blasting and fracturing wells are allowed to occur at levels that cause the ground to shake, as long as they do not exceed an acceptable level of tolerance.” “Ohio said it’s good for people to feel these activities without stopping these activities.”

He noted “dozens (earthquakes) of 2.1 degrees and above” on the Richter scale outside Marietta, in southern Ohio. Vansuch stated that ODNR did not shut down an injection well near Marietta when a 2.4-magnitude earthquake occurred there in March 2015. Instead, “ODNR only emailed the operator to ‘stop the well’ after that earthquake,” Vansuch stated.

3.0 MAGNITUDE

The AWMS required that the volume level at which the AWMS well should be decommissioned be set at 3.0.

But the ODNR Summary says there is a significant difference between the geology of the Marietta compared to the Youngstown Warren area. Marietta in Washington County “has rock structures at and near the surface that are more resistant to vibration than bulk materials in the Mahoning River Valley” in the Youngtown-Warren region.

In addition, wells in Washington County are located in a rural area, not the urban environment that AWMS chose to build a well for, with greater population density and infrastructure.

Furthermore, the AWMS is located near the ancient Mineral Ridge Dam and Meander Reservoir. As a result, earthquakes caused by it (the AWMS injection well in Weathersfield town) pose a greater threat to more people,” according to ODNR.

ODNR added that the Ohio Supreme Court heard the AWMS’s argument that the positions of Marietta and Mahoning Valley were a level playing field and “found them to be unfounded.”

Vansuch’s file asks the ODNR to give the AWMS “objective criteria… to keep (Oil and Gas Division) accountable and responsive in the event of suspension, shutdown, or AWMS operations.”

The ODNR brief touches heavily on references to the Meander Dam in Mineral Ridge, which is set to cost $45 million in upgrades in the coming years, and some changes tailored to meet the need for the dam to withstand earthquakes that may result from injection wells in the Youngstown Warren area.

2.1 . selection

ODNR reported that the order issued on May 21, 2021 capping earthquakes before reaching lockdown at 2.1 to avoid earthquakes that could be felt by the public, in part because feeling earthquakes can cause anxiety among residents.

“Its matter considers the great uncertainty about the nature of man-made earthquakes and current science and technology, which cannot reliably prevent man-made earthquakes from escalating to a detrimental level,” states the ODNR file.

“The President’s order imposes an appropriately conservative margin of safety in the face of significant risks to the welfare, life, and property of innocent people,” the statement read.

ODNR says that allowing a minimum of 3.0 “will expose the community to frequent ground-shaking”.

ODNR says that subsurface conditions in northeastern Ohio require that only low-level earthquakes be allowed because in northeastern Ohio, “earthquakes begin to be felt at lower magnitudes…due to the underlying soil and geological conditions in the Mahoning River Valley.”

It states that a 4.0-magnitude earthquake “will certainly be felt by thousands. At a moderate intensity level, people would feel the earthquake outside and wake up from their sleep, small objects would move, doors would swing open or close, curtains and pictures would move,”

Youngstown Warren was hit by a 4.0-magnitude earthquake on December 30, 2011, as a result of the activities of the North Star injection well on Ohio Works Drive on the north side of Youngstown. The earthquake led to the closure of that well.

The order states that if there is a 4.5-magnitude earthquake in the AWMS injection well, “there may be significant damage to the Mineral Ridge dam, even if the dam has not collapsed completely.” The statement referred to Wong’s testimony at the February 2022 hearing.

Traffic Lighting System

The AWMS suggests that the state adopt a “traffic light system” that would activate yellow in the event of a 2.35-magnitude earthquake, and a red 3.0-magnitude light.

A yellow light indicates that the injection well will need to adjust its operating parameters by reducing its injection capacity by 10 percent and reducing its maximum weekly pressure to 1,350 psi, according to AWMS filings.

If a 3.0-magnitude earthquake occurs, the AWMS will “stop injection” for 20 days, after which it can resume injection but only with an amplitude 20 percent below average and at a maximum pressure of 1,350 psi.

The AWMS suggests that if the ODNR determines that the AWMR injection is likely to cause earthquakes and is “reasonably believed” to be harmful to people or property, the ODNR can ask the AWMS to depressurize the well and “not resume operations until a full assessment of the data” Save cases.

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