State, county elected leaders take proactive steps for banning injection wells
While the application for a proposed injection well in Fayette County may have been withdrawn, county and state leaders are looking for ways to stop similar applications in the future.
After G2 STEM applied for a permit to dispose of fluids associated with oil and gas production into the Balltown Sandstone Formation about 3,400 feet underground in Nicholson Township, state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa circulated a co-sponsorship memorandum seeking a statewide ban of toxic oil and gas wastewater injection wells.
The Smithfield Republican said soon after her memorandum was circulated, a state senator from across the aisle contacted her about introducing companion legislation Senate.
The legislation, which she hopes to formally introduce next week, would prohibit the state Department of Environmental Protection from issuing any permits or authorizations that would allow for oil and gas waste water to be injected throughout the commonwealth.
“If successful, no community in Pennsylvania has to fight like this on this particular issue,” Krupa said.
Opponents of the injection well application in Nicholson Township – which included residents, elected officials and environmental groups – raised concerns that the waste can contain heavy metals, man-made chemicals and radioactive materials. G2 STEM ultimately withdrew its request for the well earlier this month.
“I’m very, very proud of how the community rallied and responded to this,” Krupa said, attributing the application withdrawal to the collective efforts of those who opposed the well. “In my role, I don’t want this to happen in Nicholson or Springhill (townships) or anywhere in state.”
Read more: State, county elected leaders take proactive steps for banning injection
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