The community of Cyclone in Keating Township has the misfortune of being chosen as a site for a Class II injection disposal well by Catalyst Energy of Pittsburgh. This involves converting a former deep gas well to a frack water disposal well.
Frack water is a toxic mixture of hazardous waste and trace radioactivity. Several of these wells in many locations across the U.S. have failed, including in Ohio.
The Cyclone/Hilltop area has a long history of oil well production and there are hundreds of abandoned, unplugged oil wells, with several in the vicinity of the injection well site. There are numerous homes with private water wells within a quarter-mile of the injection site. The nearest home/water well is approximately 150 feet from the well site.
The Hilltop-Kinzua Headwaters Preservation Committee is very concerned about contamination of our water aquifers, wetlands, streams, soil, gas/frack water migration and its devastating effects. We are appealing the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s permit 37-083-46237-00-01 for this well — 54 residents are participating in the appeal.
Catalyst Energy has never constructed a Class II injection well before, so Cyclone will be its “guinea pig.” This is not acceptable to the majority of our residents, and we refuse to sit idly by and let this happen. If you have any information that you would like to share or would like to offer your assistance, please email HilltopPreservation@gmail.com.
Tama Fitzsimmons, Cyclone
