County Planning and Zoning Director Dan Glotz said officials have approached the zoning and planning office concerning the use of two injection wells within Columbus Township. However, right now the office is only in the research phase and hasn't begun to draft an ordinance.
"There really isn't anything in place yet," he said.
He also said he hasn't seen any information about the use of a pipeline through Columbus Township to deliver waste to the injection wells.
Kimmich said the pipeline is still a "long term goal" that will eliminate road traffic, noise and truck exhaust emissions.
If Bear Lake Properties successfully demonstrates the Venango formation is able to take sufficient volumes of waste, the company will be taking waste that Kimmich said is mostly salt water, but does contain chemicals associated with hydrofracking.
Since Gov. Tom Corbett asked many of Pennsylvania's waste water treatment plants to stop accepting Marcellus Shale waste, trucks have been transporting the fluid to Ohio which has approximately 170 injection wells throughout the state, according to the Associated Press.
Last June, Ohio tried to slow the increase of waste by raising the tax from five cents a barrel to 20 cents a barrel.
So far that has not worked out.
Kimmich said Ohio is beginning to look at drilling the Utica Shale, where he said large companies have brought in prolific wells, and is worried they won't have the capacity to accept waste from their own wells down the road.
Operating the wells in Columbus Township would bring the disposal sites in state and about a third of the way closer, Kimmich said.
That means more competition and more waste, which he said would come throughout north east Pennsylvania.
http://www.timesobserver.com/page/content.detail/id/548510/Injection-wel