COLUMBUS, Ohio — The operator of a Youngstown deep-injection well tied to earthquakes in the area has yet to receive the state clearance necessary to conduct an independent seismic study aimed at proving it wasn't the cause of the quakes.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show the company sought state permission to do so in February and still awaits a reply.
The situation catches D&L Energy in a Catch-22, since it seeks to re-open the shuttered well to measure the vibrations.
D&L closed the well after a New Year's Eve quake reached 4.0 magnitude. A state moratorium on deep-injection drilling halted disposal with a 5-mile radius of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing and other drilling activity.
A March report tied the well to the quakes. D&L wants the chance to disprove that finding.