Law Office

TERRY JONATHAN LODGE

 316 N. Michigan Street, Suite 520 Phone (419) 255-7552

Toledo, Ohio 43604-5627 Fax (419) 255-7552

lodgelaw@yahoo.com

June 3, 2014

James Zehringer, Director

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

2045 Morse Road

Columbus, OH 43229-6693

Via certified mail and email

RE: Demand for revocation of Chief’s Orders for drilling waste disposal facilities

Dear Mr. Zehringer:

I am writing on behalf of citizens in Youngstown and in the Barnesville area, who are

actively challenging the operations of fracking waste facilities, to demand an immediate end to a

flagrant violation of state law. I am referring to the illegality of the Department of Natural

Resources’ issuances of Chief’s Orders to create twenty-three (23) drilling waste treatment and

disposal facilities across Ohio. Noncompliance with the explicit requirements of O.R.C. §

1509.22 requires the immediate revocation and cancellation of all Chief’s Orders issued since

January 1, 2014, because all of them have been improvidently issued.

Attached is a list of the facilities which have, to the best of our knowledge, each been

issued a Chief’s Order. Each of the orders contains boilerplate wording and contains zero

conditions to assure workers’ or the public’s health and safety. The process culminating in

issuance of these orders by the ODNR Chief of Oil and Gas Resources Management violates

mandatory requirements of the Ohio Revised Code.

We learned of ODNR’s facility approvals only by dedicated pursuit of public records

requests. The unfortunate concealment of these public regulatory decisions may relate to the very

nature of the facilities themselves. They all seek to handle, process, treat and/or dispose of oil

and gas drilling wastes from horizontal hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) wells. The hundreds of

thousands of tons of solid wastes, and millions of gallons of liquid wastes which result from

fracking, are rife with radiation, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals used to extract oil and gas

from deep shale formations. ODNR elicits almost no information from the facility applicants

aimed at disclosure of their processes and technologies. But from even the little information

provided to the Department, the facilities are obviously handling radioactive fracking wastes, and

that requires far more regulatory involvement and stringency than the Department provides.

O.R.C. § 1509.22( C) states:

Page 1 of 2
 (C) The chief shall adopt rules regarding storage, recycling, treatment, processing,

andd disposal of brine and other waste substances . The rules shall establish procedures

and requirements in accordance with which a person shall apply for a permit or order

for the storage, recycling, treatment, processing, or disposal of brine and other waste

substances that are not subject to a permit issued under section 1509.06 or 1509.21 of

the Revised Code and in accordance with which the chief may issue such a permit or

order.

(Emphasis supplied). This statute requires that before ODNR may consider facility applications,

ODNR first must promulgate and publish rules which define the permit types, how one may

apply, and the informational detail required for a considered decision to issue or deny such

orders. But those rules do not exist; nothing can be found in the Ohio Administrative Code

which has been promulgated pursuant to Ohio’s Administrative Procedure Act (O.R.C. Chapter

119). According to O.R.C. § 1509.03(A), the APA must be obligatorily followed. 1

If, as we have concluded, these orders are being issued without rules, then there is no

legislative direction over the approval of these facilities, and the statute allowing them is void for

unconstitutionally delegating legislative power to an executive agency. We submit that as to all

23 of the fracking waste facilities covered by Chief’s Orders, Chief Simmers’ decisions are

unlawful, and his orders cannot stand. Accordingly, we urgently demand that the ODNR

immediately revoke and cancel all of these orders in favor of undertaking the requisite Chapter

119 rulemaking(s) to comply with the obligations imposed by O.R.C. § 1509.22.

Please respond within twenty (20) days of receipt of this letter, indicating that ODNR is

nullifying the existing chief’s orders. Otherwise, we will consider ourselves free to pursue other

options.

Thank you very much.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Terry J. Lodge

Terry J. Lodge

cc: Rick Simmers

Mike DeWine, Esq.

Which states: “(A) The chief of the division of oil and gas resources management shall adopt, 1

rescind, and amend, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, rules for the administration,

implementation, and enforcement of this chapter.”

Page 2 of 2
LIST OF FACILITIES ISSUED ‘CHIEF’S ORDERS’

1. 4 K Industrial Park,

LLC

1001 Main St. 

Martins Ferry, Ohio 43935 

2. Antero Resources

Miley Pad, Noble County,

Ohio

3. Buckeye brine, LLC

6505 US 36 

Tuscarawas, OH 

4. Chesapeake Exploration

LLC

9125 Dawson Road. 

Hopedale, OH

5. CNX gas company LLC

Cowgill Road.

Sarahsville, OH

6. Dow Cameron oil and

gas.

1470 Adamsville Rd 

Zanesville, Ohio 

7. EnerGreen 360 Holding

Company LLC

East Ohio regional

industrial Park 

Belmont County, Warren

Township

8. Enviro Clean Services

515 Industrial Blvd. 

Wooster, Ohio

9. Enviro Tank Clean.

Belpre, OH

10. GreenHunter Water 

50810 State Route 7 

Washington County,

Grandview Township

11. Halliburton energy

services, Inc.

Zanesville, Ohio

12. Heckmann Water

Resources Inc.

935 E. Pike 

Norwich Ohio

13. Iron Eagle

Sherrodsville, LLC

20 S. Church St. 

Sherrodsville, OH

14. Liquid waste

solidification LLC

440 S. 3rd St. 

Steubenville, Ohio

15. Somerset regional

water resources.

43031 Industrial Park Dr. 

Cadiz, OH

16. The Belden brick

company.

375 Dover Rd. NW. 

Sugar Creek, Ohio 

17. Weavertown Transport

Leasing, Inc.

2741 Stonecreek Rd,

Southwest

New Philadelphia, Ohio

18. Warren Drilling

305 Smithson Street 

Dexter City, OH 

19. CMS Oilfield Services

69500 Bannock Road 

St Clairsville, OH 

20. Keystone Clearwater

Solutions, LLC

Grunder Pad to Jenkins

Pad to Ocel Pad 

Carroll County

21. NuGlobal Water

Solutions, LLC

44995 Dickerson Church

Road

Cadis, OH 

22. Industrial Waste

Control/Ground Tech. 

240 Sinter Court 

Youngstown, OH

23. K&H

28333 West Belpre Pike 

Coolville, OH 
Facilities operating under HB 59. Rules have not been finalized for these facilities. 

1) 4 K Industrial Park, LLC application 46 pages

1001 Main St.

Martins Ferry, Ohio 43935 

Will utilize waste treatment resources of the former RG steel Martins Ferry Ohio operation. Treatment 

of hydraulic fracturing water, and drilling fluids to acceptable quality for recycle back to drilling 

companies for reuse. Various chemical additives will be used. The operation will be a zero discharge 

system requiring modification of the NPDS permit. Chemicals include, but are not limited to, sulfuric 

acid, L, soda ash, 30% caustic, polymer flocculant.

Water received will be pumped into a 200,000 gallons incoming storage tank. The current proposed 

treatment will allow between 135,000 and 150,000 gallons of flow back per day. The facility is located in 

Belmont County borders the Ohio River on the west at mile marker 88.5.

A technician will walk around the truck with a hand-held radiation survey monitor and record the 

survey. The top hatch will be opened and the following air contaminants will be screened with a handheld calibrated instrument with in the headspace of the truck, Hydrogen sulfide, percent oxygen, LEL, 

methane, carbon monoxide.

Facility is under 24-hour surveillance by security cameras strategically placed on the property.

Process residue will be collected within the geo-tube filter bag stored in roll-off container. The contents 

of which will be tested in accordance with the approved landfills acceptance policy. NORM/TENORM, 

liquids will be screened in the laboratory if reasons are found for further analysis. Samples will be 

collected and sent to an approved laboratory for radium 226 and 228. The Ohio Department of Health 

will be consulted for guidance in proper handling of elevated levels. Current options for disposal 

considerations are approved dilution techniques, transport to approve low-level radiation landfill or to a 

Michigan landfill that allows levels up to 15 picocuries/grams for contaminated material.

2) Antero resources application 39 pages

Brine treatment and recycling

Miley Pad, Noble County, Ohio

The facility will be capable of treating up to 12,000 barrels per day, which is equivalent to a design 

capacity of 504,000 gallons per day. It is anticipated that a flow of 100,000 barrels per month 

(4,200,000 gallons per month) will be processed. Approximately 1 ton of wet sludge is generated per 

1000 barrels of flow treated, which is equivalent to about 100 tons per month of anticipated flow.

Sludges will be solidified with fly ash and sent to the WMI Northwest landfill in Parkersburg, West 

Virginia. The WMI landfill does not require testing TENORM.

3)Buckeye brine, LLC application broken down into multiple files

6505 US 36.

Tuscarawas, OH
The facility will receive waste oil field fluids and treat them to specifications suitable for reuse as 

Fracking fluid. The facility will also receive oilfield sludges and solids, de- water them with a centrifuge. 

The solids will go to a landfill in a dry state requiring no further. Solidification, while the water will be 

introduced into our recycling operation, or disposed of in our injection well, 30 miles away to the east in 

Coshocton. All vessels intended to be processed in the solids. Facility will be scanned using a handheld 

Scintillation monitor.

Note: letter to ODNR, since starting operations, we have received over 1 million barrels of fluid and have 

accumulated a considerable inventory of solids. We first clean solids out of our tanks in July and did so 

again in early September. Owing to widespread confusion and concern about the TENORM rules and 

guidance, we have been unable to get the material except that at any Ohio landfill. After much 

struggling, we have finally managed to start moving the material to a landfill outside of Ohio. 

Meanwhile, we face the need for another tank cleanout immediately at a time when we are under way

with some new construction projects. We need to move our solids out of the Coshocton facility and 

store them at another location until we can dewater the solids. To the extent possible through gravity 

separation in preparation for shipping them to a landfill.

4)Chesapeake Exploration LLC application multiple files

9125 Dawson Road.

Hopedale, OH

Electrocoagulation , solids are skimmed, decanted and properly disposed in accordance with current 

regulations. This appears to be a mobile unit maximum processing capacity is 10,000 barrels a day.

5)CNX gas company LLC

Cowgill Road.

Sarahsville, OH

The proposed facility is an in ground centralized impoundment the facility will receive freshwater flow 

back in produced fluids from multiple Consol gas operations. The fluids will be stored in the 

impoundment and sent to surrounding Consol Utica Wells for recycling during frack operations. The 

facility will have a 6 inch clay liner, covered with a secondary HDPE liner, covered by a geo-net fabric for 

the leak detection layer than a primary HDPE liner. Facility will operate with automatic security and 

fluid tracking system.

The total volume of storage will be approximately 10,000,000 gallons with 2 feet freeboard. Fluids will 

be delivered to the site via pipeline and possibly by tanker trucks. Depth of the impoundment will 

average 16 feet, with up to 22 feet at the sump. No mention of how solids will be handled.

6)Dow Cameron oil and gas.

1470 Adamsville Rd

Zanesville, Ohio

Facility receives oil and gas brine filters to remove suspended solids, then transports filtered water to 

accepted disposal Wells. Solidification process has been implemented in order to manage all residual 

solids. No mention of what this process is or where the solids are disposed of.
7)EnerGreen 360 Holding Company LLC

East Ohio regional industrial Park

Belmont County, Warren Township

Will manufacture several products and structural fill to develop the property. The material will be used 

at the same location that the treatment process takes place, structural fill for pad ready sites – drilling 

sites eligible to be under ODNR authority. Road base for construction of least roads – within regulated 

area. The property will be developed with the chemically and geotechnically treated material. Once 

placed in the backfill the professional engineer will render the site “clean” certified under Ohio 

voluntary action program (OEPA) issuing a ”no further action” letter on the redeveloped site.

Our intent is to remain on the site developing sections of the 200+ acres in 6 acre tracts as we go.

8)Enviro Clean Services

515 Industrial Blvd.

Wooster, Ohio

Centralized waste treatment facility. All waste brought into the facility for solidification unloaded into 

solidification pit, mixed with sawdust and auto fluff and tire fluff. Can manage 90 – 100 tons per day. 

The facility may also except tank bottoms for treatment. Solids to be disposed of at a permitted landfill. 

Facility also plans to accept TENORM waste for down blending. The facility will conduct a “finger 

printing” test on the waste with a Rad – Alert 100 radiation screening unit.

9)Enviro Tank Clean.

Belpre, OH 

Basically the same operation as Enviro Clean above. Same owner from West Virginia.

10)GreenHunter Water

50810 State Route 7

Washington County, Grandview Township

Brine holding facility. Brine water is held until capacity is available at one of five permitted disposal 

Wells in Ohio or to permitted disposal Wells in West Virginia. If water is received that because of solids 

cannot be taken directly to a disposal well, the water is processed through a vibration system that 

removes the solids. The water is then taken to disposal well for injection or offered back to the 

producer. As of yet, no producer has taken the water. Solids are taken to Waste Management through 

a WV disposal profile. This landfill does not require TENORM testing.

11)Halliburton energy services, Inc. application 398 pages

liquid mud plant

Zanesville, Ohio

Use drilling mud, containing any contained drilling solids, is placed into the facility storage tanks for 

processing. The use drilling mud may be processed through a centrifuge at the LMP to physically 
separate out the drilling solids from the use drilling mud. Solid and liquid chemicals are mixed with the 

recycle drilling mud to create the different consistencies and types of drilling mud required for specific 

well drilling applications. The facility is capable of handling and processing more than 250 barrels per 

day of drilling mud.

12)Heckmann Water Resources Inc.

935 E. Pike

Norwich Ohio

Storage facility consists of six – 500 barrel frack tanks. Each bracket tank is individually filled directly 

from the truck. All frack tanks are located inside of the Earth and containment with a 16mm HDPE 

textured liner, with a 10 ounce nonwoven geotextile between the Earth and the liner. Depending on the 

need of the customer, the brine inside the tank is either disposed of at an injection well or returned to

the customer. No comment on treatment of solids.

13)Iron Eagle Sherrodsville, LLC

20 S. Church St.

Sherrodsville, OH 

The site for the proposed transfer station will be on the same location as the proposed, iron Eagle 

treatment facility, whose preliminary notice has already been supplied to ODNR. NOTE: preliminary 

notice for Iron Eagle treatment facility has not been included in ODNR response to my records 

request.

14)Liquid waste solidification LLC

440 S. 3rd St.

Steubenville, Ohio

A pre-frack nonhazardous solidification facility. We solidify 100% of all liquids that are brought into our 

facility. We are a fully indoor facility on a concrete floor without any floor drains in our entire facility. 

We empty the waste into our 1/2 inch thick steel bends that are 6 feet deep, 10 feet wide and 30 feet 

long. We then add solidification agents such as sawdust and quicklime and mix within excavator. Once 

the material is to a point that it will pass the paint filter test we then load it into a truck and ship it to our 

local landfill APEX. Presently handling anywhere from 100 to 500 barrels a week.

15)Somerset regional water resources.

43031 Industrial Park Dr.

Cadiz, OH

Proposing to construct a beneficial reuse wastewater treatment facility to treat wastewater, and drilling 

muds that will be trucked in from the oil and natural gas wells. Will be receiving frack flow back water, 

produced water, and drilling muds from the oil and natural gas wells to be treated and reused at well 

sites. Will also treat pipeline testing water and drilling mud for reuse at oil and natural gas drilling sites.

Each truck will be tested for drip gas level and radiation scan will be performed using a handheld 

instrument prior to and loading. If radiation readings are below are permit level the water will be 

pumped into the DAF unit. Anticipated volume, 600,000 gallons daily. Dewatered mud will be placed in 
the roll-off boxes will be hauled off-site for disposal at an approved landfill. The roll-off boxes will be 

scanned for radiation levels prior to be sent off-site.

16)The Belden brick company.

375 Dover Rd. NW.

Sugar Creek, Ohio

Brine is hauled from production tanks at the well to the brine storage facility and placed in tanks where 

it is stored until it is taken by truck to be used for dust control on our haul roads.

17)Weavertown Transport Leasing, Inc.

2741 Stonecreek Rd, Southwest

New Philadelphia, Ohio

Cleans tote containers used for oil and gas primarily in Eastern Ohio. Future plans for expansion of 

service to be provided at the facility will include solidification of drilling mud, CNET water, and drill 

cuttings and brine water processing poor recycling and/or transport to class II injection well. Solids will 

be sent to a landfill. Anticipated that the treatment facility could process up to 200,000 gallons per day. 

Application does discuss down blending but does not discuss how tested.

18. Warren Drilling

 305 Smithson Street 

 Dexter City, OH

19. CMS Oilfield Services

 69500 Bannock Road

 St Clairsville, OH 

Storage, drilling mud, drill cuttings, other. Flow Back, Produced waste and sand. 

20. Keystone Clearwater Solutions, LLC 

 Grunder Pad to Jenkins Pad to Ocel Pad

 Carroll County 
21. NuGlobal Water Solutions, LLC 

 44995 Dickerson Church Road 

 Cadis, OH 

22. Industrial Waste Control/Ground Tech. 

 240 Sinter Court 

 Youngstown, OH 

23. K&H

 28333 West Belpre Pike

 Coolville, OH 

Solidification facility. Solids sent to landfill in WV. Not TENORM testing re