Underground Injection Control (UIC)

The division protects Ohio’s groundwater by regulating the disposal of brine and other wastes produced while drilling for or producing oil and gas.

Division UIC personnel review construction specifications and issue permits for wells used to inject fluids, primarily oil-field brine, into deep underground formations. The division also regulates the hauling and spreading of oil-field brine. Brine haulers in Ohio are required to be registered, bonded, and insured with the Division of Mineral Resources Management.

Oil-field brine is a saline by-product generated during oil and gas well operations. The salinity, or dissolved content, of Ohio oil-field brines vary considerably from one geologic formation and may vary regionally within the same formation. Ohio brines can be more than ten times as salty as seawater.

DISPOSAL WELLS
Disposal wells include conventional brine injection wells and annular disposal wells. Enhanced recovery injection wells are used to increase production of hydrocarbons from nearby producing wells. All types of injection wells are designed to ensure safe injection into permitted formations.

BRINE HAULING AND SPREADING
The spreading of oil-field brine is a legal, cost-effective, and efficient way to control dust and ice problems on local roads and private property in Ohio. Ohio’s UIC Program regulates the hauling and spreading of oil-field brine while local authorities, such as the County Commissioners and Township Trustees, permit the actual spreading on public roads and private property.

The Division reviews all local brine spreading resolutions and plans passed by the local jurisdictions to ensure compliance with state law. State law requires a minimum of nine brine spreading standards incorporated into all local resolutions. Local authorities have the power to require spreading standards that are more stringent than state law.

All registered brine haulers must have the identification number issued by the Division, the word “brine”, and the name and telephone number of the hauler on the sides or rear of their trucks. All of this information must be in reflective paint and the letters on the vehicle must be no less than four inches in height. Ohio oil-field brine is tracked from “cradle to grave” and all brine haulers must maintain a daily log in their trucks.