MARTINS FERRY — Mayor John Davies believes the situation at Austin Master Services “could have been disastrous” if the Ohio River had crested 2-3 feet higher than it did on Thursday evening.

Although Davies on Thursday evening said that no flood water entered the facility that recycles waste from hydraulic fracturing operations associated with local natural gas and oil production, by Friday morning that had changed. Davies said he visited the site before 8 a.m. Friday and found that water had breached one set of doors, though he said it never rose to the level where the waste is stored.

Davies took photos and video of the conditions inside the former steel mill that showed where water had risen partway up a ramp to the storage area. Those same images appeared to show that the floor around the containment area and the tracks on which rail cars filled with waste are parked remained dry.

Davies also shared a “mylar,” or a drawing, of the plant that includes information on the elevations of different parts of the facility. The elevation of the area where waste is being stored is at 44.9 feet while the Ohio River reached a maximum between 41 and 42 feet as it crested locally and flooded the surrounding area.

“This is a serious issue. This needs to be remedied,” Davies said after his site visit Friday. “They had a court hearing on Monday, and they gave them until the (April) 17th to clean it up. There’s 10,000 ton there. They’re not going to clean it up. They said that they didn’t have money to clean it up.”

Davies said Austin Master had to post a $500,000 bond with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in order to operate the facility. He believes ODNR should use that bond to begin an immediate cleanup.

“What happened yesterday could’ve been disastrous,” he said of the flooding. “The only thing that was underwater was this here, and this is the check box in front of the mill.”

He noted that an outbuilding and the parking lot also were submerged but remained adamant that no areas that contain waste, some of which is radioactive, took on water. He said 4K, which owns the facility and leased space to Austin Master for its operation, sandbagged doors and prevented water from entering the plant at any other point than at the bottom of the ramp. He said that 4K has been accommodating to his requests for site visits and that he believes 4K is doing what it can to keep the facility safe until the situation with Austin Master can be resolved.

“I wanted everybody to know we’re taking it seriously,” he said, adding that he had called ODNR, Ohio EPA and the attorney general’s office on Friday morning. “The problem we have is your state agencies don’t want to work together. … We were told that we really have no say-so over a permit. It’s all ODNR.”

Davies said he told those state agencies that he will seek national attention about the issue if no action is taken.

“You could’ve had East Palestine all over again right here,” he continued. “This could’ve been really bad.”

While Davies previously said he was not concerned about contamination of the city’s well fields that lie north of the facility, he revised that opinion on Friday. He said he witnessed a “swirl” effect as water approached the waste containment area that, if the water had been higher and swirling harder, could have sent contaminated water toward the well field.

“That would have been an issue,” he noted. “That didn’t happen fortunately, and our wells are sealed. We sealed everything and we shut the (treatment) plant down so we weren’t taking in any water at all.

“We have a three-day supply of water, so we can shut down for three days,” the mayor said, noting that the plant was operating again Friday afternoon.

Davies has met with representatives of ODNR and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency several times in recent days after it was revealed that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action against Austin Master last week, citing “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding storage of oil and gas waste. His complaint, filed in Belmont County Common Pleas Court, states the waste is a threat to the Ohio River and to Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply.

The complaint also alleges that the company far exceeded the 600 tons of waste that it is permitted to store at the facility, located at 801 N. First St. in Martins Ferry, which is approximately 500 feet from the Ohio River and about 1,000 feet from the city’s drinking water well field.

Davies blames a lack of oversight and said “ODNR dropped the ball.”

“The oversight wasn’t done, that’s the bottom line. The oversight was not done to oversee this facility,” Davies said. “… I feel that the state hung the city out to dry.”

Andy Chow, ODNR spokesperson, said via email on Friday that ODNR staff was on site during the situation with flood waters and confirmed no impact to the (waste) materials occurred. Asked about ODNR’s plan to clean up the facility if Austin Master does not comply with the court order to do so by April 17, Chow said only that ODNR does not comment on pending litigation.

“ODNR will continue to closely monitor the facility and will take action to protect the public as needed,” Chow added.

Katie Boyer, director of the Office of Communications & Outreach for the Ohio EPA, said her agency has been monitoring Ohio River flooding near the Austin Master facility. On Friday, she wrote in an email that “flood waters never reached the building and the water is now receding in that area.”

When asked to elaborate since this seemed to contradict what Davies reported seeing at the facility, Boyer replied: “(W)hen our team was on the scene, the water had not reached the building and was receding.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s spokesman Dan Tierney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Friday.

Members of the activist group Concerned Ohio River Residents who previously raised the alarm regarding the potential for dangerous contamination from the site remained concerned about the situation Friday. Beverly Reed of Bridgeport, who frequently speaks out regarding such issues, said accountability is key to resolving the issues at Austin Master.

“The ODNR failed by permitting this,” she wrote in a text message. “The city could’ve done more to prevent this current issue.”

Davies stressed, though, that the city did not issue any permit related to Austin Master Services and, hence, had no authority to perform inspections or revoke any permit.