MARTINS FERRY, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will clean up tons of illegal fracking waste at Austin Master Services’ wastewater treatment plant in Martins Ferry, Ohio, after the company failed to clean it up within a court-ordered deadline on July 22.
A judge ordered the Pennsylvania-based wastewater treatment company to suspend operations at its site along the Ohio River in April after the ODNR found the company had exceeded its permit and improperly stored brine waste.
Martins Ferry City Council, local environmental groups and residents have been pushing for the waste to be cleaned up for months to prevent it from contaminating nearby water sources. Now, ODNR will begin cleanup efforts to remove the waste, providing a breath of relief to Martins Ferry residents.
“I think we’re moving in the right direction,” said Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies. “We can only right the wrong. We can’t go back in time and stop it from happening again.”
Cleanup begins
According to an ODNR spokesperson, the clean-up will consist of two phases. The first phase will be transporting a portion of the waste via truck to residual waste landfills in Pennsylvania. ODNR hired a contractor for phase one and removal started on July 23. Phase one is expected to take about three weeks.
Phase two may consist of moving the waste via truck or rail, ODNR said. The agency is still taking bids for the second phase of waste removal and site restoration. In total, the cleanup is estimated to take nine months.
ODNR’s Division of Oil and Gas Resource Management will use Austin Master’s bond forfeiture and the agency’s oil and gas fund to clean up the site, and will seek reimbursement from the company afterward.
The facility will also not be re-permitted, something Martins Ferry council members and residents have been pushing for. Regardless, Martins Ferry City Council is updating its source water protection plan as a preventive measure in case another facility is permitted in the area.
“We’re trying to close all the loopholes we can. I’ll guarantee to you for the next three and a half years, (if) they gonna put something in like that, there’s gonna be a hell of a battle,” Davies said.
Davies believes loopholes in local laws are how Austin Master was able to get away with operating illegally for years.
“Our position is if we detect anything or hear of anything that we don’t agree with, we’re gonna approach it that day or the next day. We’re not gonna wait for nine years,” Davies said.
Nine-year battle
Austin Master received a permit for its wastewater treatment facility in 2014, but signs of improper brine waste storage began in 2017. In November 2021, environmental groups found high amounts of radioactivity in the soil surrounding the facility and, a year later, the EPA flagged it as a potential superfund site.
According to ODNR, the Austin Master facility switched to new ownership in late 2022. Concerns heightened when ODNR inspected the facility in February.
A month later, ODNR ordered Austin Master to suspend operations and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued a restraining order and preliminary injunction against the company.
Belmont County Common Pleas Court Judge John Vavra initially gave the company 14 days to clean up the waste, which it failed to do.
Most recently, a contempt hearing was held in May to address this failure to clean up. Austin Master was ordered to clean up the waste before July 22 or CEO and Chairman of American Environmental Partners Inc., the parent company of Austin Master, Brad J. Domitrovitsch would go to jail for 30 days and the company would be fined $200 a day.
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
