Ohio Court Weighs Fracking-Waste Injection Wells As Seven Leak Underground And PFAS Contaminates Eight Counties

As an Ohio court weighs the future of fracking-waste injection wells, new details are emerging about leaks that have already damaged dozens of oil wells and raised fears about drinking water. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, or ODNR, has confirmed that seven injection wells have leaked underground since 2019. Two of those wells are owned by a powerful state senator.

Seven injection wells have leaked underground since 2019 — two owned by a powerful state senator.

One well, called Redbird #4 in Washington County, started operating in November 2018. By late 2019, it had leaked 4.2 million gallons of brine. That salty water traveled up to five miles and flooded 28 production wells.

The damage hasn’t stopped there. At least 55 of 240 oil wells owned by two local landowners have been flooded with brine since 2019. Instead of oil, those wells now produce a salty, sludgy liquid with a foul smell. The wells have lost their financial value, and the landowners are stuck paying cleanup costs.

Two southeast Ohio landowners, Bob Lane and Bob Wilson, have filed lawsuits against the injection well operators. Their neighbors have also reported flooding in private wells. The wells once helped cover monthly gas bills. Now they’re useless, and the cleanup costs keep rising.

ODNR has studied groundwater near five of the seven leak sites. So far, it hasn’t detected contamination. The agency has hired outside experts, monitored water wells, and passed stricter rules for injection well operators. It’s also forced some operators to reduce injection pressure.

Still, fears are growing. The leaks are raising concerns for an aquifer that supplies water to thousands of people in the Marietta area. In May, affected landowners testified at the statehouse about the flooding. Despite those concerns, ODNR recently approved a new injection well permit in Washington County, which has heightened community worries. A community meeting was organized to allow residents to hear directly about the risks posed by injection wells in the region. Ohio currently has roughly 232 active injection sites, with approximately 19 more permitted or under construction, raising questions about the scale of underground waste disposal across the state.

Fracking wastewater injection has now been linked to leaks in eight Ohio counties. Meanwhile, PFAS contamination has added another layer of concern across the state. Suspensions of leaking wells don’t automatically block future permits, meaning the fight over Ohio’s underground waste disposal isn’t over.

✅ Claims in this article were verified using AI-assisted fact-checking.