T-L Photo/JENNIFER COMPSTON-STROUGH Martins Ferry City Council meets at the recreation center on Wednesday. Seated at the center table are Mayor John Davies, left, and Service and Safety Director Andy Sutak. Shown around the perimeter are, from left, council members Robert Hunker and Spencer Echemann.

MARTINS FERRY — After Martins Ferry City Council sent a letter to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources outlining concerns about the Austin Master Services fracking waste processing facility in the city, it received a response that Mayor John Davies described as nothing more than “blah, blah, blah.”

In late March, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action seeking to force Austin Master Services to correct “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding storage of oil and gas waste that he says threatens the Ohio River and Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply. More recently, Yost asked Belmont County Common Pleas Court before Judge John Vavra to find the company in contempt of court for failing to meet a court-ordered cleanup deadline in April. The original complaint states that the company is failing to store waste from fracking operations properly at its facility located at 801 N. First St. in Martins Ferry.

Council had asked ODNR in its letter to force the company to clean up the site. Similar letters were also sent to ODNR by entities including the Belmont County Board of Commissioners, Pease Township Board of Trustees, Bridgeport Village Council and Brookside Village Council.

City Service and Safety Director Andy Sutak said during a council meeting Wednesday evening at the recreation center that council sent letters to “30 or 40” different agencies seeking help with the situation but only received two responses — the letter from ODNR and a phone call from the office of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, saying little could be done at the federal level since the state permitted the operation.

The letter from ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management Chief Eric Vendel thanks city leaders for reaching out and states that the division appreciates and shares council’s concerns. Vendel wrote that is why, when violations were discovered, the division asked Yost to file a complaint on its behalf and, later, to file a motion for contempt.

“In the meantime, we are closely monitoring the Facility,” Vendel states. “Division staff has been on site regularly since issuing the suspension order to supervise clean-up activities and ensure that all waste is completely contained inside the Facility. We are exploring all regulatory and legal options and will take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the Facility does not cause harm to the public health and safety or the environment.”

Davies told council he found the conclusion of the letter particularly hollow.

“We understand that as leaders of Martins Ferry, you have a uniquely important role in protecting the community and citizens of Martins Ferry, and we are grateful for your partnership and support in that regard,” Vendel wrote. “We will continue to keep you apprised of all developments.”

“There is no partnership and there is no communication,” Davies said. “There’s nothing further we can do.”

Councilwoman Suzanne Armstrong questioned whether ODNR actually has had staff members on site. Davies replied that he did not know, adding that he has seen no real progress toward getting the former steel mill cleaned up.

“I am not aware of them sending anything out,” he said of the estimated 10,000 tons of material stored inside the plant.

Sutak said he planned to call ODNR to seek further communication about the situation. He noted that ODNR cites “pending litigation” in declining to answer specific questions about the site and the operations taking place there.