EPA: 40K Gallons Dumped; Hagan Demands Arrest
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – In December 2011, seven protestors blocking the entrance to a D&L Energy injection well at Ohio Works Drive were arrested, charged with a misdemeanor, and spent the night in jail.
Now, State Rep. Robert Hagan of Youngstown demands to know why Ben Lupo, the owner of D&L and the one who has admitted to dumping at least 40,000 gallons of drilling wastewater into a Mahoning River tributary, isn't behind bars.
Confirmation of the 40,000 gallons came Friday in an announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. About 40,000 gallons of drilling waste filled two storage tanks used to clean up the spill, the agency said.
Lupo has been unavailable for comment. A statement released Thursday by a spokesman for D&L said the company was considering whether to appeal the state-ordering shutdowns of D&L and Hardrock Excavating.
"We now know the most recent violation is a felony," Hagan said during his hastily called press conference Friday afternoon. "It's a felony -- not only clear to our attorney general, but clear to all of us who have been following this."
Hagan emphasized the two cases represent a clear discrepancy of justice. "I'm not satisfied with allowing the local entities to just wash their hands of their responsibility."
The state lawmaker noted D&L or its subsidiaries have amassed 120 operating violations, and at the very least, Lupo should be arrested for violating city ordinances just as Shapiro and others were over a year ago.
Although Hagan noted that he believed authorities would eventually charge and arrest Lupo, the process is tangled in bureaucracy, he said. "I'm assuming that they'll do their job, and their job is to make sure that everyone is treated fairly and equally under the law. That's not happening."
Joining Hagan at the press event was Ben Shapiro, one of the protesters arrested more than a year ago.
"Essentially for exercising our First Amendment rights, we were arrested for disorderly conduct," Shapiro said. "Now, Ben Lupo has actually admitted to dumping tens of thousands of gallons of this toxic wastewater into our drinking supply and he's sitting free right now."
Shapiro and six others were arrested as they blocked the entrance to D&L's Northstar #1 injection well on Ohio Works Drive. That well was tied to a series of earthquakes that rocked the Mahoning Valley in 2011 through January 2012.
"It shows a culture where corporate criminals and industrial polluters have one set of laws and regulations, and citizens trying to protect clean water have another," Shapiro said. "He should be in jail."
Shapiro said he is "perplexed" why local law enforcement officers haven't arrested Lupo. "I'm disappointed he's walking around free."
Officials from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources were alerted by an anonymous tip Jan. 31 that employees of Hardrock Excavating, a company also owned by Lupo, were illegally dumping drilling wastewater into a storm drain on D&L's property.
That wastewater was carried into a creek that feeds into the Mahoning River.
ODNR officials subsequently witnessed employees dumping the waste into the storm sewer, called "brine" in the oil and gas industry. Crews have been busy since Saturday cleaning the site.
A report issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Region 5 said that the EPA toured the site on Feb. 2 and "observed pools and pockets of oil in the Mahoning River and the creek."
According to the report, D&L admitted to the Ohio EPA and the USEPA that it "knowingly dumped the contents of three to six frac tanks into the storm sewer."
An analysis is underway to determine the nature and level of contaminants in the water as well as fingerprint analysis the report said.
The cleanup process includes the use of absorbent "booms," two vacuum trucks and mopping up oil with additional absorbents, the report said.
Hagan said there are still many unanswered questions about the incident, one week after it occurred. "We still don't know how many thousands of gallons have been dumped, we still don't know the content of the toxic chemicals."
And, he's wondering how long it's going to take for justice to be served in this case.
"All you have to do is arrest him, charge him, give him his day in court, he sets bond and goes out," Hagan stressed. "He's already admitted enough that he's committed these crimes. What's the problem?"
CONTINUING COVERAGE:
D&L Energy Says It May Appeal Shutdowns
Ohio Shuts Down Lupo's D&L, Hardrock Excavating
D&L's Lupo Owns Company That Dumped Drilling Waste
Petitions Filed for Citizens' Bill of Fracking Rights
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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