OH SB33 Testimony by Rev. Joan Van Becelaere, Executive Director of UUJO (Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio)

Opponent Testimony – SB 33

April 1, 2019
Rev. Joan VanBecelaere Executive Director, Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio, Columbus OH

uujoanvanb@gmail.com

Chairman Eklund, Vice Chair Manning, Ranking Member Thomas and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee,

I am a Unitarian Universalist minister and the Executive Director of Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio which includes the UU congregations in Ohio and their many members. I am also a concerned citizen of Ohio and I am deeply opposed to SB 33.

Others will argue about how this bill attacks freedom of speech and freedom of association. I want to also raise the argument that this bill attacks freedom of religion and prohibits justice-oriented faith traditions from exercising what they believe is their religious duty to engage in public witness at those places where the health and life of people are endangered and the sacred integrity of the environment is put in jeopardy.

SB 33 does not directly focus on preventing terrorist attacks. Why, then is it needed? The major purpose seems to be to discourage justice-focused organizations and their members from protesting oil and gas sites that pose a danger to health and pollute land, water and air.

Ohio law already prohibits ‘criminal trespass’, ‘aggravated trespass’, and ‘criminal mischief’ to property. This bill only serves to increase penalties for citizens and non-profit organizations who engage in non-violent public witness at critical infrastructure sites. It was originally drafted by the oil and gas industry in response to the public outcry at Standing Rock and other locations where landowners and fellow citizens protested large oil, gas, and pipeline projects.

The bill adds a new prohibition under the offense of “aggravated trespass”, that expressly prohibits a person from entering or remaining on a “infrastructure facility” with purpose to destroy or “tamper” with the facility. And the bill adds a new prohibition under the offense of “criminal mischief” that prohibits a person from destroying or “improperly tampering” with a “infrastructure facility”.

SB 33 makes violation of these new prohibitions third degree felonies. These undefined acts of tampering or intending to tamper do not have to be violent in nature to be judged worthy of a felony conviction under SB

33. And the definitions of “tamper” or “intend to tamper” are wide open to a variety of possible interpretations. One person’s non-violent, faith-based public witness may be another’s “tampering.”

And then, SB 33 specifies that any organization found guilty of the vaguely defined act of “complicity” in a violation under this bill, is to be punished with a fine ten times the maximum that can be imposed on an individual for a third-degree felony. This means possible fines up to $100,000.

The bill also holds a person or organization that pays a violator’s fines or damages in a civil action, liable for any judgment against the person who may have ‘tampered’ with the infrastructure facility. Thus, if a faith-based justice group or a church is found complicit (whatever that means) when one of its members is found guilty of “intending to tamper” or “improperly tampering” with a “critical” facility, the church may face a $100,000 fine. Of course, this would destroy most churches and most faith-based organizations.

And a church may not assist a member in paying a fine in a civil action. Which blocks a congregation from its religious duty to care for its members in times of distress and need.

SB 33 would criminalize the ministry of justice-focused churches and faith-based justice organizations who engage in and promote peaceful public protest at critical infrastructure sites. Congregations from many different faith traditions in Ohio could be held liable for the crime of complicity, be forced to pay fines that would destroy the, and be unable to assist their members in need. This constitutes an attack on freedom of religion. People of faith who feel called by God to speak truth to power and stand up for environmental justice could find their congregations deeply damaged or destroyed under SB 33. It would become a crime to assemble for public witness at those facilities that are the worst offenders for environmental pollution, that create health crises in our most vulnerable communities. It would be illegal for people of faith to speak truth to power at those pipelines and fracking wells that expand fossil fuel use and destroy our climate.

In summary, SB 33 is a dangerous assault on civil liberties: freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. And SB 33 also attacks freedom of religion and the right to speak in holy witness to those who believe their economic power is threatened by protest. This bill is clearly intended to keep faith groups as well as environmental groups on the sidelines for fear of being found guilty of complicity and facing their own destruction.

When Americans abandon their commitment to freedom of speech and assembly and freedom of religion, the world will notice, and disaster will follow. SB 33 deserves to be condemned by all people of faith.

Ohio Residents Open Legal Fund To Stop Fracking Waste Injection Well - Please Support!

Residents of Brookfield, Ohio and the surrounding area have been lawfully opposing five (yes,  five!) proposed toxic fracking waste injection wells planned to be constructed and operated way too near family homes, a stream,  businesses, and government buildings in a region that we believe is now man-made earthquake-prone and is an abandoned coal mine area.

Will you please help us stop this insanity? Please donate if able and please share our GoFundMe, thank you!
https://www.gofundme.com/help-stop-fracking-waste-injection-well-legal-fund


Gloria Douglas is a grandmother who has lived in her beloved Wyngate Manor home for 31years. Gloria calls it her “forever-home” because she can’t imagine ever having to leave the home she’s lovingly cared for and lived in all these years.[1]

Gloria’s home is way too close to waste injection well number five – the one we are currently trying to lawfully stop.[2] Her home is in the below image which is courtesy of Ted Auch, Great Lakes Program Coordinator, The Fractracker Alliance, www.fractracker.org


There are hundreds of homes with families living nearby in Brookfield.  It is tragic and astonishing that this heavy industrial injection well operation could even happen to the hundreds of people who live so close to this injection well.

READ MUCH MORE at campaign description: https://gf.me/u/qb6n2d

Notes:
[1] “Brookfield residents rally to stop injection wells,” by Michael Roknick, The Herald (Sharon, PA), April 7, 2018 https://www.sharonherald.com/news/local_news/brookfield-residents-rally-to-stop-injection-wells/article_c9d67d66-3a16-11e8-a151-93733b6a553b.html ;
 “Brookfield one step away from getting more injection wells,” 21 WFMJ – TV News, by Glenn Stevens, March 21, 2018,  http://www.wfmj.com/story/37779520/brookfield-one-step-away-from-getting-more-injection-wells

[2] “Fracking waste injection wells proposed to be sited way too near family homes, businesses and government buildings:   A heartfelt plea for help to lawfully stop them, Blog post, Frackfree America National Coalition, January 19,2018     http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/blog/fracking-waste-injection-wells-proposed-to-be-sited-way-too-near-family-homes-businesses-and-government-buildings-a-heartfelt-plea-for-help-to-lawfully-stop-them

Citizens Townhall-style Meeting on NE Ohio Fracking Waste Injection Wells on September 27, 2018

Citizens will hold an anti-injection well public townhall-style meeting in Brookfield, Ohio on Thursday, September 27, 2018,  at 7 PM to 9:30 PM,  to discuss proposed fracking waste injection wells planned to be sited way too near family homes, businesses, government buildings and important waterways. 

       Building upon the success of a very well-attended August meeting, citizens will hold another public town hall-style meeting on Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 7 PM to 9:30 PM at the Brookfield Ohio Fire Hall (social hall), at 774 State Route 7 NE, Brookfield, Ohio 44403.  There will be a public discussion about five proposed Brookfield fracking waste injection wells and also a new toxic waste injection well proposed for Hubbard Township, Ohio.

A petition opposing the proposed Hubbard Township injection well will be available for attendees to sign.

        These wells are planned to be sited way too near family homes, businesses, government buildings, and important waterways. This is unacceptable, say citizens.
       Meeting organizers are reaching out to invite and involve residents from Brookfield, Hubbard, Hubbard Township, Vienna, North Lima, and the entire region, including people in Pennsylvania. All elected and public officials and candidates are also invited. The meeting is free and open to the public. All media are urged to please attend.

       Meeting organizers say that Ohio cannot be used as a toxic waste dumping ground.  
       Injection well-related spills and releases that result in water contamination can occur such as the release in Vienna, Ohio in 2015 that destroyed two wetlands and a pond.  Groups say injection wells, such as the ones proposed for Brookfield and Hubbard Township, pose unacceptable risks of potential adverse impacts to air, water, and land. They also pose unacceptable risks of more man-made earthquakes, like the 2011 magnitude 4.0 Youngstown injection well-linked quake, in an already earthquake-prone region where abandoned coal mines exist.
       Citizens are calling for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to be proactive and to immediately deny the injection well permits and revoke those that are already issued in order to protect the public interest, the environment, and the public health, safety, and welfare.
       Groups stress that ODNR must not force families, individuals, and communities to accommodate and adjust to the unfair and risky placement of toxic waste injection wells located practically in some peoples’ backyards. Citizens have private property rights and rights to the protection of public health and safety, as well, that must not be violated by the unwise siting of injection wells so near family homes, important waterways, and other vulnerable structures.

       Groups helping to coordinate the September 27th meeting are Brookfield Citizens Against Injection Wells (BCAIW)  ( https://stopfrackingwasteneohio.blogspot.com/  )    Frackfree America National Coalition (FANC), based in Youngstown, Ohio (www.frackfreeamerica.org ) and  Buckeye Environmental Network (BEN) (www.buckeyeenvironmentalnetwork.org ).
         The groups, FANC and BEN, believe based upon science and experience, that injection is inherently unsafe and that no amount of regulation can make it safe, especially in a highly populated, earthquake-prone area where Hubbard Township and Brookfield are located and where there are abandoned coal mines.

       For information about local injection wells, man-made earthquakes, and more, please see:
http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/blog/public-comment-odnr-should-denyrevoke-permits-of-5-fracking-waste-injection-wells-in-brookfield-ohio-december-2017#_ednref2:

       The Facebook event page for the September 27th town hall is at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/490835774744843/

       For more information or media inquiries, please see www.frackfreeamerica.org   Email:  frackfreeamerica@gmail.com     or call:  234-201-8007

                                                                     # # #

Citizens will hold an anti-injection well public townhall-style meeting in Brookfield, Ohio on Thursday, September 27, 2018, at 7 PM to 9:30 PM, to discuss proposed fracking waste injection wells planned

Citizen Townhall: State of Fracking Waste Injection Wells on August 30, 2018 Hubbard, Ohio

A town hall-style, informational, open-to-the-public meeting about fracking waste injection wells is to be held on Thursday, August 30, 2018 in Hubbard, Ohio 
       A citizen town hall-style meeting to be held on Thursday, August 30, 2018 at 7 PM to 9:30 PM at the Brentford House in Hubbard, Ohio (more details below) will address fracking waste injection wells, in general, and also a new toxic waste injection well proposed for Hubbard Township, Ohio planned to be sited way too near family homes, businesses, government buildings and an important waterway.  Five proposed Brookfield, Ohio injection wells and North Lima and Vienna, Ohio injection wells will also be discussed.

       Astonishingly, despite Trumbull County having numerous waste injection wells already, yet another toxic waste injection well is being proposed for a highly populated area in Hubbard Township, Ohio.  This is unacceptable. Groups opposing injection wells say this is an issue for the entire region and the state, especially since scientists have linked injection wells to man-made earthquakes, even as large as a magnitude 5.7 quake that occurred in Oklahoma in 2011.

       There are also unacceptable risks to water posed by injection wells.  Spills and releases that result in water contamination have occurred such as the release in Vienna, Ohio in 2015 that destroyed two wetlands and a pond.  Groups say injection wells, such as the one proposed for Hubbard Township, pose unacceptable risks of adverse impacts to air, water, and land.  They say Ohio cannot be used as a toxic waste dumping ground.

       Concerned Hubbard citizens, their allies, and groups opposing injection wells will hold a town hall-style, informational public meeting on Thursday, August 30, 2018  at 7 PM to 9:30 PM at the Brentford House , at 737 Myron Street, Hubbard, Ohio, 44425 to provide information and to let the community voice their concerns and suggestions regarding lawfully halting fracking waste injection wells.

       The meeting is free and open to the public. All media are urged to please attend.

       At the beginning of the meeting, distinguished speakers will provide information about injection wells, hazardous waste, and other relevant issues. Then the floor will be opened to the public and media for comments, questions, and answers.
       Confirmed speakers are:

• Battalion Chief of the Youngstown Fire Department, Silverio Caggiano, who has served for 37 years with the fire department and who serves on numerous hazardous materials technical advisory committees for the state.  Chief Caggiano also has 27 years as a hazardous materials/ WMD Specialist.
• Hubbard Township Trustee Rick Hernandez, Jr.
• Teresa Mills, Executive Director of the Buckeye Environmental Network (BEN) and Community Organizer for the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ).   

       Town hall organizers say that at the meeting, attendees can get up-to-date information on the status of the proposed injection wells, sign the citizen petition to oppose the proposed Hubbard Township injection well, and voice their concerns, experiences, and expertise regarding the wells.
       Saying that communities need to stick together in their opposition to the injection wells, meeting organizers are reaching out to invite and involve  residents from Hubbard, Vienna, Brookfield, North Lima and the entire region, including people in Pennsylvania. All are urged to attend.
       Groups helping to coordinate the meeting are Citizens Against Injection Wells – Hubbard Twp., Frackfree America National Coalition (FANC), based in Youngstown, Ohio (www.frackfreeamerica.org ) and  Buckeye Environmental Network (www.buckeyeenvironmentalnetwork.org ).
       The groups, FANC and BEN, believe based upon science and experience, that injection is inherently unsafe and that no amount of regulation can make it safe, especially in a highly populated, earthquake-prone area where Hubbard Township and Brookfield are located and where there are abandoned coal mines.

   For more information or media inquiries, please see www.frackfreeamerica.org   Email:  frackfreeamerica@gmail.com     or call:  234-201-8007
        For information about local injection wells, man-made earthquakes, and more, please see:
http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/blog/public-comment-odnr-should-denyrevoke-permits-of-5-fracking-waste-injection-wells-in-brookfield-ohio-december-2017#_ednref2

UPDATES can be found on facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/675991752775040/

Injection Well FACT SHEET (August 2018)  click to download file

Contact: Jane Spies, M.S. Ed.: Phone:  330-619-0730 or   234-201-8007 or
Contact: Teresa Mills: Phone:   614-507-4406 or e-mail:   tmills@chej.org

click images to view larger:

Thursday nite - NE Ohio Fracking-Waste Injection Wells Townhall-meeting August 30, 2018 @ 7pm @ Brentford House, 737 Myron Street, Hubbard, Ohio, 44425 

  

In the seismically active NE Ohio fracking waste injection wells could induce earthquakes - permits must be revoked/denied.

OH State Rep Glenn Holmes letter denouncing fracking waste injection wells in Ohio

Location of proposed fracking waste injection well, Hubbard Twp, Trumbull County, Ohio (200 feet from food manufacturing plant)

Youngstown citizens need at least 20 persons during next 3 weeks as volunteers 2-4 hours per week

Youngstown citizens need at least 20 persons during next 3 weeks as volunteers, 2-4 hours per week, getting Youngstown registered voter signatures on their citizen's ballot initiative to put into law protections for the drinking water, air and land!
Please call 234-201-0402 to volunteer or PM their @frackfreemahoning Page @ https://www.facebook.com/frackfreemahoning/
GOAL: 2000 signatures by the first week in August to get on the November 2018 ballot.
=======================
Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that this "Water Protection Bill of Rights" citizen's ballot initiative must be put on the ballot (once it obtains enough qualifying signatures).

Read the proposed amendment here:
http://www.protectyoungstown.org/

YES or NO vote: That the citizens of our community have a right to: 1. clean drinking water, free of toxic contaminants and MORE

Love Canal, NY, 1977 - present, school and homes built on chemical waste dump

 Love Canal story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal#Lois_Gibbs_and_the_Love_Canal_Homeowners'_Association
and good timeline:
http://www.niagara-gazette.com/news/local_news/headline-no-love-canal-timeline/article_a049cccd-77a1-5692-a824-706a200b927f.htm

Thank You Conscientious Reporters and Hard-Working Media Professionals Who Work to Fulfill the Duties of a Free Press By Protecting the Rights of Citizens Over Profits For Polluting Industries

Community Bill of Rights Committee                                         News Release

www.protectyoungstown.org

_______________________________________________________

For Immediate Release:  May 4, 2018

Contact:  Lynn Anderson:  Phone: 330-792-0428 or 234-201-0402 or email:  artistelynn@sbcglobal.net
Susie Beiersdorfer: Phone 330-881-1040 or email: yogayoungstown@gmail.com

 ______________________________________________________

Thank You Conscientious Reporters and Hard-Working Media Professionals Who Work to Fulfill the Duties of a Free Press By
Protecting the Rights of Citizens Over Profits For Polluting Industries

Youngstown, Ohio, May 4, 2018 – Members of the Youngstown Community Bill of Rights Committee released the following statement on May 4, 2018:

The Free Press is necessary for a democracy. We need the voice of our citizens to be heard, not drowned out. Money as speech has been the rule as multi-national corporations and government collude to make profits for the most wealthy.

Locally, in the dangerous situation we face, that of the disposal of cancer-causing toxic waste threatening the public health of the citizens of Youngstown, we urge you to cover the truth. Consider what will be your legacy- informing and warning the people, or helping to destroy the livable community. We encourage you to:

            • Please write about the facts regarding the past 6 elections where hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent in our elections, to guarantee that big polluters profit with impunity.
            • Serve the greater good of our people and our city as honest, trustworthy, unbiased, media that is not bought and paid for by polluting industry.
            • Help citizens understand that it is OUR RIGHT to petition our government when it is not protecting us. (Ohio Constitution Article 1 Sec. 2)

Now, more than ever before, the rights of people must be held above the rights of “corporate personhood.”

Facts:

1. Mahoning County Board of Elections used unconstitutional law HB 463 to keep the qualified citizens’ ballot initiative off the ballot, November 2017, resulting in voter suppression. They tried to do the same for the May 2018 ballot. The Ohio Supreme Court did not rule that the BOE was wrong to do this until April 24, 2018. Early voting had started weeks earlier, and over 1,000 ballots were already cast. ALL the extra fees, now for printing and mailing supplemental ballots have been a result of the actions of the Mahoning County Board of Elections.

2. Every election, campaign funds are contributed to electeds as they represent their donors and not the people they are elected to serve. Officials, union leaders, preachers, all have gotten enriched by the industry and told to repeat the industry propaganda- that we will get jobs. Currently, a SUPER PAC, “Restoring Ohio’s Values” is paying for robocalls made by Mayor Tito Brown, which repeat the same old lies, that Youngstown voters need to vote NO on this “Job-Killing” bill. Enough is Enough!

Why do we have to choose between jobs and clean water?
We can have clean water AND good jobs... Don’t settle for less.

Why Vote YES for the Youngstown Drinking Water Protection Bill of Rights?

Vote YES to Protect OUR Drinking Water because
without clean water there is no community.

Vote YES to Guarantee OUR water and sewer funds are used for water quality and infrastructure improvement, not abused by corrupt politicians and developers! Public monies should not be used for private business profits and our water pipes must be replaced to ensure clean drinking water, now and in the future.

Don’t let Youngstown become another Flint Michigan!

Youngstown Drinking Water Protection Bill of Rights
P.O Box 43 Youngstown, OH 44501

You can get more useful background information and history from our website:

 www.protectyoungstown.org  

       For media inquiries or more information, please contact the Community Bill of Rights Committee at: 
234-201-0402   or  e-mail:  frackfreemahoning@gmail.com


                                                                       # # #

Fracking Waste Injection Well Fails - Why Build Five More Possible Failures in Brookfield Ohio?

News Release:
Frackfree America National Coalition, based in Youngstown, Ohio
 www.frackfreeamerica.org
Buckeye Environmental Network www.buckeyeenvironmentalnetwork.org
Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ)  www.chej.org
_______________________________________________________
For Immediate Release:  November 27, 2017
Contact: Jane Spies, M.S. Ed.: Phone:  330-619-0730 or   234-201-8007 or
e-mail:  frackfreeamerica@gmail.com
Contact: Teresa Mills: Phone:   614-507-4406 or e-mail:   tmills@chej.org
_______________________________________________________

Groups will hold a public town hall–style, panel discussion meeting in Brookfield, Ohio about five proposed fracking waste injection wells planned to be sited in Brookfield way too near family homes, businesses, and government buildings.

       Concerned Brookfield citizens and groups will hold a town hall-style, panel discussion meeting on Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 7 PM to 9:30 PM at the Brookfield Fire Hall, at 774 State Route 7 NE, Brookfield, Ohio, 44403 to provide information and to let the community voice their concerns regarding five proposed fracking waste injection wells.[1] The wells are planned to be located in the Brookfield community in a highly populated area too close to known epicenters of man-made earthquake activity.[2] The meeting is free and open to the public. Groups helping to coordinate the meeting are Frackfree America National Coalition, based in Youngstown (www.frackfreeamerica.org ), Buckeye Environmental Network (www.buckeyeenvironmentalnetwork.org ), and the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (www.CHEJ.org ).
       Construction of a fracking waste injection well site in Brookfield, Ohio has begun[3] as of about November 13, 2017, but it’s not a “done deal,” say the groups, as additional Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) permits are required for the company to fully operate and inject fracking waste – much of it to come from out-of-state if the wells are eventually approved.  Highland Field Services, a Seneca Resources subsidiary, is the company planning to site five injection wells in the Brookfield community.[4]
       Citing unanswered questions about an apparently mysteriously abandoned old injection well near the Brookfield high school and other serious public health and safety concerns,[5] groups call for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to revoke and deny drilling permits and to immediately halt current injection well construction in Brookfield, Ohio, that is reportedly already slowing traffic.

       One would think that if an attempted siting of an injection well near the high school in Brookfield [6] seems to have failed for some reason, that failure should be thoroughly scrutinized, publicized, and scientifically understood before any other company tries to locate five more injection wells in essentially the same geologic area.  It’s just common sense. It’s transparency.

        Why didn’t the older injection well in Brookfield, called the Hray-Mullenax well, become active? Was American Energy Associates’ request to ODNR to plug their injection well ever approved by ODNR? [7]  What’s to prevent the same or a similar situation from reoccurring at the new proposed injection well site near Wyngate Manor in Brookfield if officials just rush ahead without fully understanding or adequately disclosing the history of what might have happened at the older injection well?
       A public records request has been submitted to ODNR, and we eagerly await their answers to some crucial questions about why the old injection well, the Hray-Mullenax, apparently has been abandoned.  (The old injection well is hereafter referred to as Hray in this document.)
      Why would the Hray injection well owner put enormous amounts of money, over a period of perhaps years, into constructing the injection well and then just decide to leave and walk away, if he did, especially after ODNR inspection reports [8] indicate that “most of the surface facility” had been constructed, according to an inspectors’ note of December 19, 2016? [9]
       Furthermore, according to two ODNR inspection report entries of the Hray injection well dated 10/10/2014 and 10/11/14:
“ … Circulation was lost at approximately 155 feet deep. …”   “A mine sting [sic] was set through a suspected mine void at approximately 152 feet deep. …” [10]
       A mine void was encountered?  This is especially troubling in light of the fact that recently discovered “large holes” in the ground (not far from the Hray injection well site) have opened up in Brookfield’s township park because abandoned coal mines from the 1890s collapsed. There are plans for ODNR to seal the mines at the site, which has been fenced in, according to the Tribune Chronicle (11/7/2017).[11]
       Could there be some connection between the old Hray injection well drilling and the opening up of the “large holes” in the northern part of the park - or not?  They could be totally unrelated, but ODNR must show the public the proof. Answers must be provided by ODNR before any other injection well drilling is allowed to proceed, in our opinion, in order to protect the public health and safety.

       The ODNR permit issued on August 4, 2014 for the now-abandoned Hray injection well indicates that ODNR required “microseismicity” monitoring in the permit conditions before the old Hray injection well could inject.[12]  Did microseismic monitoring take place and, if yes, when?  Did they find seismicity (earthquakes), or not?  Where are the seismic records if they exist?  Could seismicity be a reason that the Hray site was abandoned?  The community needs to know.
       According to the June 30, 2016 entry of the ODNR inspection reports on the Hray injection well:
       “At the time of my inspection, American Energy has removed all of the impacted soil and vegetation affected by the leaking frac tanks.  Grass seed and straw has been spread.  The frac tanks are missing 4” plugs. I called Bob Barnett, owner of American Energy.  I instructed Mr. Barnett to install plugs on all of the frac tanks.”[13]
       It is not clear whether or not the plugs were installed because the inspection reports seem incomplete. If there was a leak that impacted soil and vegetation so that it had to be removed, why was this situation not publicized when it happened?  Were the Brookfield Trustees notified? Certainly, the Brookfield community should have been informed if there was a problem of this nature.

       Finally, why are there no inspection reports for 2017 that we can find?  Where are the required inspection reports? The last one we’ve been able to locate was dated December 19, 2016.  ODNR should still be inspecting the old injection well.  When was the most recent inspection?

       Brookfield is an abandoned coal mine area.[14]  According to an article in the Columbus Dispatch (9/2/2008), it is unknown precisely where all of the abandoned coal mines in eastern Ohio might be.”The state’s work is made more difficult because no maps exist for at least 2,300 of Ohio’s estimated 6,600 old mines.” [15]
       Since it is not known where all abandoned coal mines might be or where unmapped faults that could cause earthquakes might lie, it is gambling with the public health and safety to locate five injection wells in Brookfield.  It is unacceptable.  It cannot happen because it is not in the public interest.
       Even if the new proposed five injection well operation is not directly over a known or mapped abandoned coal mine, what could be the possible impacts if a potential man-made earthquake due to fluid injection were to occur? This is not out of the realm of possibility since Brookfield, Ohio is in an area close to known areas of seismic activity.  Many remember the magnitude 4.0 injection well-linked induced earthquake in Youngstown, Ohio in 2011.[16]  In 1986, there was a magnitude 5.0 earthquake in the Painesville, Ohio area that may have been injection well-linked.[17]  These were not tiny tremors.  The risk of creating induced earthquakes is nothing to toy with.

       All of the above are good, valid reasons why this proposed Brookfield injection well operation should not proceed, as we believe that it poses unacceptable risks to public health and safety, and private property rights and values. This is especially true since this is an abandoned coal mine area that is near known areas of man-made earthquake activity and for other reasons outlined in previous documents and press releases.[18]

        If ODNR permits this massive, heavy industrial injection well operation to proceed in the highly populated Brookfield community, it would be irresponsible and reckless, in light of the potential dangers to public health and safety and private property rights, and social costs involved.[19]  ODNR and the company know about these issues, or they should know by now, especially since many in the public have been objecting to these proposed injection wells for a long time.

       The public, especially the Brookfield community, deserves and needs to hear ODNR and Highland Field Services, a Seneca Resources subsidiary, answer these kinds of questions, and more, in a public setting with media in attendance.  It is the fair and transparent thing to do.

        The November 30, 2017 town hall-style, Brookfield panel discussion will also include information about local and regional injection well and fracking-linked, man-made earthquakes, risks to water and air, and other related issues and possible solutions.  Confirmed panelists are Teresa Mills, Executive Director of the Buckeye Environmental Network;  Dr. Ray Beiersdorfer, Ph.D., Youngstown State University Distinguished Professor of Geology; Ted Auch, Ph.D. of The FracTracker Alliance;  and Michele Garman who lives right next door to an operating injection well.
       Representatives from ODNR and Highland Field Services have been invited to participate as panelists, but their possible attendance is not yet confirmed or disconfirmed.

       The groups, FANC, BEN, and CHEJ believe, based upon science[20] and experience, that injection is inherently unsafe and that no amount of regulation can make it safe, especially in a highly populated, earthquake-prone area where Brookfield is located and where there are abandoned coal mines.

       For more information or media inquiries, please see www.frackfreeamerica.org   Email:  frackfreeamerica@gmail.com     or call:  234-201-8007

       For more information about the five proposed Brookfield injection wells, man-made earthquakes, etc. please see:
http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/blog/ohio-citizens-to-odnr-revokedeny-five-fracking-waste-injection-permits-immediately-brookfield-wells-pose-imminent-danger-to-public-health-safety-and-welfare

Visit the November 30th Facebook Event page at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/132776757385463/?active_tab=about
                                                              
Notes:


[1] “Injection-well company applies for 3 more wells on same Brookfield site,” October 11, 2017, Vindicator,     http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/11/injection-well-company-applies-for--more/?newswatch

[2] “Frackfree Mahoning Valley will participate in a prayer service/vigil and hold an informational rally near an injection well site July 12, 2016, “ FMV News release, July 11, 2016,          http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/blog/frackfree-mahoning-valley-will-participate-in-a-prayer-servicevigil-and-hold-an-informational-rally-near-an-injection-well-site-july-12-2016

[3] “Drilling company begins work to construct injection wells,” November 14, 2017,  News on the Green, Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/NewsontheGreen/

[4] “Brookfield Residents Worry about 3 More Injection Wells,” by Dan O’Brien, October 4, 2017, Youngstown Business Journal,     http://businessjournaldaily.com/brookfield-residents-worry-about-3-more-injection-wells/

[5] “Frack-waste truck overturns near Coolville,” by Conor Morris, November 21, 2017, The Athens News,    https://www.athensnews.com/news/local/frack-waste-truck-overturns-near-coolville/article_4c0615da-cedd-11e7-82c6-fb0f4cc59baf.html
 “Tanker hauling brine water crashes on SR 800,” by Cathryn Stanley, March 15, 2916, Barnesville Enterprise,          http://www.barnesville-enterprise.com/article/20160315/NEWS/303159060
 “Deadly side effect to fracking boom,” AP, May 5, 2014,     https://www.cnbc.com/2014/05/05/deadly-side-effect-to-fracking-boom.html
“Deadliest Danger Isn’t at the Rig but on the Road,”  by Ian Urbina, May 14, 2012, New York Times,  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/us/for-oil-workers-deadliest-danger-is-driving.html?pagewanted=all
 “Comment to ODNR re: Brookfield injection wells by BEN  CHEJ  FANC “  http://www.buckeyeenvironmentalnetwork.org/news/2017/6/1/comment-to-odnr-re-brookfield-injection-wells-by-ben-chej-fanc
“Frackfree Mahoning Valley will participate in a prayer service/vigil and hold an informational rally near an injection well site July 12, 2016, “ FMV News release, July 11, 2016,          http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/blog/frackfree-mahoning-valley-will-participate-in-a-prayer-servicevigil-and-hold-an-informational-rally-near-an-injection-well-site-july-12-2016
“Drilling concerns in Bristol  Messick Road residents hit with noise, odor, road woes,” by Bob Coupland, November 27, 2017, Tribune Chronicle,      http://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2017/11/drilling-concerns-in-bristol/

[6] “Injection well planned in Brookfield,” by Robbie Byrd,  January 29, 2014, WKBN 27 First News,  http://wkbn.com/2014/01/29/injection-well-planned-in-brookfield/
“ODNR approves Brookfield injection well,” WYTV, August 19, 2014,      http://wytv.com/2014/08/19/odnr-approves-brookfield-injection-well/

[7] “Firm looks to drill two Brookfield injection wells,” by Virginia Shank, Tribune Chronicle, February 3, 2017,   http://content.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2017/02/firm-looks-to-drill-two-brookfield-injection-wells/

[8] Inspection reports Hray  http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/uploads/1/2/4/0/12404661/hray-mullenex-injection-well-inspection-reports.pdf

[9] ODNR inspection report, entry dated 12/19/2016,  API_WELLNO 34155240910:
 “As of the time of inspection, the well has not been permitted to operate.  The surface facility plan has not been submitted to the Division.  Even though most of the surface facility has been constructed, the construction has not been approved by the Division. […] “          http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/uploads/1/2/4/0/12404661/hray-mullenex-injection-well-inspection-reports.pdf

[10] ODNR inspection report, entries dated 10/10/2014 and 10/11/2014,  API_WELLNO 34155240910      http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/uploads/1/2/4/0/12404661/hray-mullenex-injection-well-inspection-reports.pdf

[11] “ODNR to seal abandoned mine,” by Bob Coupland, November 7, 2017, Tribune Chronicle http://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2017/11/odnr-to-seal-abandoned-mines/

[12]  “ At least 60 days prior to beginning injection operations, American Energy, Inc. shall begin monitoring for microseismicity in the area of the proposed wellsite with at least one instrument.  American Energy, Inc. shall continue to monitor for microseismicity for at least 180 days after injection operations commence.”  Excerpt is from State of Ohio Department of Natural Resources,  Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management Well Permit, Date Issued 8/4/2014, Permit Expires 8/4/2015,  API Well Number:  34-155-2-4091-00-00

[13]  ODNR inspection report, entry dated 6/30/2016,  API_WELLNO 34155240910      http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/uploads/1/2/4/0/12404661/hray-mullenex-injection-well-inspection-reports.pdf

[14] “Mines in Brookfield Township,” website: “Abandoned Coal Mines, Research by Ann Harris, Professor, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Youngstown State University, accessed November 25, 2017,    http://mines.ysu.edu/township_results.php?state=Ohio&link=Trumbull&township=Brookfield&sort=name

[15] “Old coal mines are risk to homes in eastern Ohio, Columbus Dispatch, September 2, 2008 http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2008/09/02/ohcoal.ART_ART_09-02-08_B1_GLB70C0.html
“Earthquake concerns: Some Trumbull County residents warned to be prepared,” by Jack Shea, February 16, 2017, Fox 8 Cleveland,      http://fox8.com/2017/02/16/earthquake-concerns-some-trumbull-county-residents-warned-to-be-prepared/

[16] “Earthquake Time Line,” Vindicator, March 16, 2012   http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/mar/16/earthquake-time-line/

[17] James Risen and Stephanie Droll, “Great Lakes Area Jolted by 5.0 Earthquake,” Los Angeles Times, February  01, 1986,      http://articles.latimes.com/1986-02-01/news/mn-2945_1_great-lakes

[18] “Ohio Citizens to ODNR: Revoke/Deny Five Fracking Waste Injection Permits Immediately – Brookfield wells pose imminent danger to public health, safety, and welfare,” News release from FANC, BEN, CHEJ, October 9, 2017,  http://www.frackfreeamerica.org/blog/ohio-citizens-to-odnr-revokedeny-five-fracking-waste-injection-permits-immediately-brookfield-wells-pose-imminent-danger-to-public-health-safety-and-welfare
“Love Canal environmentalist, Lois Gibbs, visits Valley,” By Matt Stone, July 28, 2017, 21 WFMJ TV,    http://www.wfmj.com/story/35998002/love-canal-environmentalist-lois-gibbs-visits-valley

[19]  The following excerpt from Marketplace quotes Youngstown Fire Department Battalion Chief, Silverio Caggiano. “He is also a member of the regional hazardous materials response team“  according to the article: “ “Oil and gas chemical secrecy is unusual, said Caggiano. In every other sector, truck drivers who transport chemicals carry papers, called Material Safety Data Sheets, listing the contents.
“The driver's MSDS sheets, even if he is not alive, I know where his MSDS sheets are. They're within a foot of his right hand,” Caggiano said. “But with the fracking industry, whatever they're hauling there's not going to be one.” He has signed onto the letter asking the EPA for more disclosure on oil and gas chemicals.” “
The above excerpt is from [article and audio]:      “ ‘The public has a right to know’ : Fracking companies don’t have to disclose chemicals linked to health concerns,” by Scott Tong, November 15, 2017,      https://www.marketplace.org/2017/11/15/sustainability/epas-legalized-suppression-fracking-chemical-secrets

[20] “Drilling Reawakens Sleeping Faults in Texas, Leads to Earthquakes,” by Anna Kuchment , November 24, 2017, Scientific American,      https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drilling-reawakens-sleeping-faults-in-texas-leads-to-earthquakes/

                                                                                        # # #