MARTINS FERRY — A buyer may have been secured for the Austin Master Services facility in Martins Ferry that has been storing excess oil and gas drilling waste for several months.

Earlier this month, it was reported by Marcellus Drilling News that Austin Master’s parent company, American Environmental Partners Inc., had found a buyer for the subsidiary that is the subject of court action filed by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. No additional details have been announced, so it is unclear who the potential buyer is, what assets it would receive and who will pay for the cleanup of the facility. No sale price has been announced.

Belmont County Common Pleas Judge John Vavra, who has been presiding over the case filed in March, said he had been “told the same thing” about a potential sale. Vavra said the court held a status call with attorneys for the state and the defendants on Thursday and has another teleconference set for July 15.

Vavra said that any new buyer would have to go through the process of having Austin Master’s permit to operate transferred to the new ownership. That would be done by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management.

“There are still questions about will the owners of the land cooperate,” Vavra noted.

The Austin Master facility is housed in a portion of the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel mill at 4K Industrial Park along First Street in Martins Ferry.

Eric Vendel, chief of the ODNR Division of Oil & Gas Resources Management, issued a statement on the matter via email on Friday.

“The court has ordered Austin Master Services to clean up the facility by July 22nd, however ODNR stands ready to clean up the facility if they fail to comply with the court’s order. Under no circumstances will the City of Martins Ferry and local residents be responsible for the cost of cleanup,” Vendel wrote. “The ODNR Division of Oil & Gas Resources Management is closely monitoring the situation at the facility and committed to additional inspections. The Division is taking necessary steps to prepare for cleaning up the facility if Austin Master Services does not fulfill its legal obligation. One of those steps is the Division of Oil & Gas Resources Management issued the order to forfeit Austin Master Services bond. There are also resources in place that are prepared to respond to the site earlier than July 23 if there would be an emergency such as flooding.”

Vavra noted that during the call Thursday, officials discussed a bond posted by Austin Master when it received its original permit. He said that bond amount was slightly less than $500,000.

“The state is aware that it could take that money and begin cleanup using those funds,” Vavra said. “But the state indicates that amount is not sufficient to get the job done.”

In May, Vavra ruled that Austin Master Services LLC would be fined $200 a day and its CEO would spend 30 days in jail unless the oil and gas waste at the facility is reduced to permitted levels by July 22. Vavra found that the fracking waste processing company and Brad J. Domitrovitsch, CEO of parent company AEPI, were both in contempt of court for failing to meet a court-ordered April 17 deadline to clean up the facility. Vavra said the daily fine would be implemented immediately and continue until the amount of waste at the site is determined by the ODNR division to be within the limits of its permit.

“The judge sentenced the CEO of Austin Master Services parent company to spend 30 days in jail if the excess waste is not removed from the facility by July 22, 2024,” Vendel added. “The judge also imposed a daily fine of $200 on AMS for each day that AMS is not in compliance with the court order since the court’s ruling on May 21, 2024. In April before the court’s contempt order, the Division of Oil & Gas Resources Management removed hundreds of barrels of liquid waste from the facility. At all times, the waste has been and continues to be fully contained in the building. The Division of Oil & Gas Resources Management continues to monitor to ensure that the conditions at the site are stable.”

Austin Master’s operating permit states that it can store up to 600 tons of oilfield waste products. Estimates indicate that the company has around 10,000 tons of waste, some of which is radioactive, on site. Since the May hearing, city leaders have seen no signs of progress on the cleanup effort.

Vavra also ordered Domitrovitsch, who was not present but was represented by counsel, to report to the Belmont County Jail in St. Clairsville to begin serving a 30-day sentence at 9 a.m. July 22. That sentence will not be imposed if the quantity of waste stored in the facility at 801 N. First St. in Martins Ferry is within permitted limits by that date.

The April 17 deadline resulted from a complaint filed by Yost on behalf of the division after its inspections on Feb. 7 and March 15 revealed that a “substantial” amount of waste had been accepted and piled up “beyond the containment walls,” according to testimony by Tara Lee, assistant chief of the ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management. She also noted that 4K Industrial Park asked the division to monitor and validate anyone coming and going from the site, which has been locked and secured. She said 4K staff had seen people trying to enter the plant.

Richard Hurey, who told the court that he had worked for about two years as a controller for American Environmental Partners Inc., testified that Austin Master is effectively a dead company, where only Domitrovitsch remains involved. Vavra did not comment Thursday on whether a change in ownership would have any impact on his ruling holding Domitrovitsch and the company in contempt of court.