The Ohio General Assembly is considering two bills that would allow the commercial sale of fracking wastewater, misleadingly labeled as “brine.” We need your help in opposing Ohio House Bill 282 and Senate Bill 171 (Establish conditions for the sale of brine as a commodity) or any such bill that would commercialize brine.
Fracking wastewater is what comes back up from fracking after millions of gallons of fresh water is laced with toxic chemicals and used in the fracking process. During fracking, this water is injected with high pressure into underground rock to split open the rock and collect methane gas that is released.
During this process, frack water picks up radioactive elements. It then comes back to the surface, where it is no longer usable as water, and must be stored in underground injection wells all over Ohio, or disposed of in another way.
The oil and gas industry in Ohio is now labeling this frack wastewater as “brine” – as if it is just salt water – and wants to sell this product commercially to be spread across Ohio roads as a deicer. One such product, currently marketed under the name AquaSalina, was tested by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Results from the test revealed that this product contains high levels of Radium-226 and Radium-228.
We need your help to keep that from happening. Here’s what you can do:
–> SIGN the letter of support from Buckeye Environmental Network: http://bit.ly/OHSTOPSPREADINGBRINE
–> CALL your Ohio state legislators and tell them you oppose House Bill 282 and Senate Bill 171 (Establish conditions for the sale of brine as a commodity). Find your legislators here
–> TESTIFY against House Bill 282 and Senate Bill 171. House Bill 282 will have its second hearing in the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee this Thursday, May 20. This hearing will only be for those that support the bill. Testimony for those against the bill could come as early as next week, so there is still time to think about doing testimony, either in person or written.
Here is a Brine Fact Sheet – https://www.radiumvalley.org/fact-sheets.php
Here are resources from the Ohio Brine Task Force – https://www.ohbrinetaskforce.org/resources/
Articles:
https://columbusfreepress.com/article/dont-be-fooled-dont-buy-bottled-radioactive-waste
https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2019/02/ohio-legislature-prepares-to-address-law-for-radioactive-road-deicer.html
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2018/07/02/Radium-radiation-commercial-brine-ohio-pennsylvania-aqua-salina-natures-own/stories/201806260107
https://oglinks.news/hse/news/odnrs-testing-confirms-worst-fears-oil-gas-brine-contains-cancer
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/oil-gas-fracking-radioactive-investigation-937389/
https://local12.com/news/investigates/serious-questions-about-radioactive-element-in-highway-de-icer
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bOYJBcsav8hx2q_hcMUPxxqblaRcR9bxC4swKUsD0ts/edit?usp=sharing
If you would like help with writing your testimony, please contact Mary Aguilera of Buckeye Environmental Network at mary@benohio.org
THIS IS DEPLORABLE AND WILL REDUCE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE AS WELL AS DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT. BRINE DUMPED INTO THE MENTOR MARSH TOOK 20 YEARS TO RECOVER AND THE EPA SUED FOR OVER 20 MILLION DOLLARS AND WON. I WILL NOT HESITATE TO REPORT THIS RIDICULOUS PROPOSAL TO THE EPA. FRACKING WASTE IS FAR MORE DETRIMENTAL.