D&L's Lupo Owns Company That Dumped Drilling Waste
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Hardrock Excavating, a company owned by businessman Ben Lupo and based at the same address on Salt Spring Road where Lupo’s D&L Energy Group operates, has been identified as the business responsible for dumping drilling wastes into a storm drain that empties into a tributary of the Mahoning River.
Documents released late Tuesday by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency state that Lupo admitted the dumping after it took place and said he was personally responsible for his workers’ actions. But this admission came only after inspectors from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources watched the illegal acts taking place.
In the meantime, cleanup and environmental testing crews were busy Thursday at the site behind the Toys 'R Us building off Salt Springs Road where the tributary flows into the river. The cleanup is expected to continue today.
"ODNR received anonymous tip that D&L Energy was dumping drilling mud/waste into a storm sewer [at 2761 Salt Springs Road]," states ODNR's pollution incident report dated Feb. 1. "ODNR inspectors witnessed the dumping at [7:30 p.m.] on Jan. 31. The owner (Ben Lupo) contacted ODNR inspectors and accepted full responsibilities."
As many as 20,000 gallons of drilling waste and brine water were dumped into the storm sewer by a tanker truck. After witnessing the violation, the Ohio EPA issued a notice of violation.
"Release of oil and waste water generated by oil and gas industry -- oil-based mud used during drilling operations, water, brine and brine residue material -- was intentional[ly] discharged to storm sewer by company employee under [the] direction of Ben Lupo, owner," states the violation written by the Ohio EPA's Kurt Kollar. "Release impacted the Mahoning River and a tributary. Company failed to report release in accordance [with] Ohio Revised Code 3750."
A criminal investigation reportedly is under way.
The OEPA notice of violation lists "initial abatement actions to be taken." These include:
- Stop release of oil and waste water into storm sewer;
- Establish and maintain containment systems in [tributary] and river to collect oil;
- Remove oil and oil imparted material from waterway;
- Remove grossly impacted debris to prevent leaching into waterway;
- Clean impacted sewer line;
- Properly manage waste material;
- Maintain remediation until water quality restored to pre-release condition.
On Monday night, D&L confirmed the state EPA and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources “are apparently looking into an incident which occurred on D&L-owned property Thursday of last week,” the company’s spokesman, Vince Bevacqua, said in a statement. “We wish to state clearly that D&L Energy was not involved in the incident.”
According to Bevacqua, “other companies” were operating on the D&L property when the incident took place. “It is D&L’s understanding that those other companies are working with state authorities to determine exactly what happened and why,” Bevacqua said.
Bevacqua did not identify the "other companies" nor their relationship with D&L and its Salt Springs site.
The D&L spokesman subsequently clarified that he does not work for Lupo's Hard Rock Excavating and reiterated that Lupo's D&L was not involved in the incident.
Late Tuesday state Rep. Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, released a letter to OEPA Director Scott Nally that states he is “appalled by not only the recklessness of the illegal dumping but also the secrecy and lack of communication and transparency surrounding the incident.”
D&L’s property at 2761 Salt Springs Road, also the address of Hard Rock Excavating, is not far from the site of the state-closed D&L injection well believed to have been responsible for triggering the series of 11 earthquakes that rocked the Mahoning Valley in 2011 and 2012.
“Why 20,000 gallons of suspected fracking fluid would be present at a closed down injection well is a mystery that is both puzzling and extremely alarming,” Hagan states, “especially when one considers the company in question has a history of at least 120 environmental and regulatory violations at 32 injection wells across Ohio and Pennsylvania.”
Here is the full text of Hagan’s letter to OEPA Director Scott Nally:
I am writing with great trepidation as I read the news reports regarding the illegal dumping of fracking waste from a drilling site near Youngstown. Such distressing news calls into question whether Ohio’s regulations, oversight, and emergency response procedures are adequate for protecting our environment and communities from oil and gas related disasters.
As I am sure you know, it was reported this morning that up to 20,000 gallons of suspected fracking waste were illegally dumped into a storm drain near the site of the D&L Energy Group headquarters in Youngstown. This waste, which may well contain oil and brine water laced with toxic chemicals, poses a clear and present danger to the citizens of the Mahoning Valley, as it had made its way into a tributary that feeds the Mahoning River.
While I understand that cleanup efforts are currently under way, I am appalled by not only the recklessness of the illegal dumping, but also of the secrecy and lack of communication and transparency surrounding the incident. Why did it take the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency four days to release just a cursory statement that provides little detail or insight into the dumping fiasco? And why do elected officials from Youngstown, myself included, continue to be kept in the dark on specifics?
In addition, the incident reportedly occurred near the D&L Energy Group headquarters and site of their now shuttered injection well that was linked to earthquakes in 2011. Why 20,000 gallons of suspected fracking fluid would be present at a closed down injection well is a mystery that is both puzzling and extremely alarming, especially when one considers the company in question has a history of at least 120 environmental and regulatory violations at 32 injection wells across Ohio and Pennsylvania.
All in all, there remain too many question marks surrounding the illegal dumping of brine from the D&L Energy Group site, and I am severely disappointed by the response of both the Ohio EPA and the Department of Natural Resources. It is through transparency and cooperation that we can best protect our communities from this type of harm. I urge you to release any and all information you have regarding the incident so that the public has the truth of the matter that they deserve.
MORE:
Authorities Probe Frack Waste Dumping at D&L Site
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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