Drilling Down
Latest Well Permits Issued in Columbiana, Mercer Counties
Thursday, March 21, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued eight new permits last week for oil and gas exploration in the Utica shale, one of them for Columbiana County.
At the same time, interest in developing the Utica in nearby Mercer County, Pa., continues as the state Department of Environmental Protection last week awarded three new permits for horizontal wells there, records show.
Anti-Fracking Activists Seek U.S. EPA Audit of ODNR
Monday, March 18, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Community activists across Ohio held simultaneous press events today requesting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conduct a "rigorous" and full audit of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' injection well program.
"We're putting these government agencies on notice," said Susie Beiersdorfer of FrackFree Mahoning Valley, a local group that opposes the oil and gas industry's practice of hydraulic fracturing and its the use of injection wells to dispose of contaminated waste from drilling.
Lupo, Guesman Plead Not Guilty to Dumping Charges
Friday, March 15, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Ben Lupo, owner of D&L Energy Group and Hardrock Excavating LLC, and former Hardrock employee Michael Guesman pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court this morning to one count of violating the Clean Water Act.
Lupo, Guesman, and Hardrock were indicted by a federal grand jury Feb. 28, charging they violated U.S. environmental law after it was discovered the company had illegally dumped wastewater from drilling operations into a storm drain on D&L's property on Salt Springs Road.