Concerned about injection well permits coming to Lenawee

To the Editor,The EPA, Region 5 office plans to issue an injection well permit to West Bay Exploration of Traverse City, Michigan for noncommercial brine disposal. The company has also applied for a permit with the MDEQ.The location for the deep well waste storage is located between Waterman and Ladd Road, in Jackson County. Feb. 20 is the last day for public written comments on this proposed Class II injection well permit. If there is public interest, a meeting will follow. If not, our community lives with well waste disposal site/sites.Though the permit is for Jackson County, the same concerns hold true for Lenawee.Currently, there are no answers to the questions of how many waste disposal sites are projected; where is the waste coming from; what’s the travel distance from the waste source and what are the safety risks in waste transportation to the injection site? What is the capacity of the ‘reservoir’ to accept and confine the waste typically untreated and undiminished in quantity or toxicity; will there be seismic testing; is there an awareness of conclusive evidence citing the vast majority of releases to the environment are the result of human error while the remainder, the result of mechanical failures of loss of well system integrity?The EPA’s regulatory focus in reviewing deep injection well permits is at the well head, with focus largely limited to protecting groundwater used as a drinking water source. Where is the meaningful notice or participation in overall environmental and human health protection related to deep injection wells— discussing the ultimate fate and transport of liquid waste injected in our community’s geologic formation?Pamela BaconBrooklyn