HUBBARD TOWNSHIP — A class II saltwater injection well is no longer moving forward because of the expiration of a permit, which one trustee said leaves the community safe from underground construction mishaps.

The class II injection well would have been constructed at 6884 Hubbard Masury Road.

Hubbard Township trustees first found out about Bobcat LLC’s decision to build the well in October and objected to it.

Trustee Rick Hernandez said Bobcat isn’t moving to renew the permit because it was recently bought by another company. Despite being under new ownership, Bobcat will still hold the same company name.

“Bobcat were the ones that pulled the permit for the well,” he said. “The company pulled the permit in March 2023. When this (new) company bought Bobcat, they could have operated under that permit if it didn’t expire.”

The permit expired Saturday.

He said if the injection well had been built, it could have contaminated the community’s drinking water with brine, chemium and radiation.

“If you have a leak, it can lead to an issue,” Hernandez said. “It’s very concerning for the fact we do not want to hear, unfortunately, the casing cracked or something happened and as a mishap, ended up in people’s water. That’s a cancer causing chemical (radiation).”

Hernandez said although wells are maintained, a leak could still happen because of the ground shifting beneath the Earth’s surface.

“It would not be an if, but when, will this end up leaking into our drinking water?” he said. “It could be debilitating if this thing decided to leak and sometimes you don’t even know unless it’s monitored.”

He said the construction of the injection well also would have congested traffic.

“I think the traffic in that area would have been (at) a much higher volume,” Hernandez said. “(With) the Interstate 80 and congestion of traffic, (it) would be ridiculous to have a well there.”

Hernandez also said these kinds of wells can decrease the value of other properties in the area.

“You want positive growth-oriented companies,” he said. “We don’t need out of state brine and trash coming out of Pennsylvania. Fracking is outlawed in Pennsylvania.”

He said if Bobcat had gone through with the project, Trumbull County commissioners, Hubbard trustees and people who live in surrounding areas would have had to be notified.

Hernandez said “Trumbull County has the highest rate of injection wells in Ohio.”

“(If) ODNR stops these operations, it will be much better for the health of our families and health of our community,” he said.

No one from the company could be reached for comment.