No one likes to hear “I told you so,” but officials in Martins Ferry, Ohio, are hearing that and more as a fracking waste recycling facility is facing a complaint filed by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in Belmont County Common Pleas Court.

Filed March 25, the complaint requests a temporary restraining order against Pennsylvania-based Austin Master Services, which is accused of illegally storing excess quantities of brine and drilling waste.

More specifically, Yost’s office said its chief concern is “the plant’s proximity to the Ohio River (about 500 feet) and to a drinking water well field (1,000 feet) for the city of Martins Ferry. The waste currently onsite exceeds the facility’s storage capacity, and the risk of overflow poses a significant threat to the surrounding area and to public health. Additionally, an inspection by (the Ohio Department of Natural Resources) found that the facility’s operators are storing waste outside of the facility’s structures designed for containment.”

Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies told residents gathered during a city council meeting the complaint alleges Austin Master “has allowed tons of waste, some of which is radioactive, to far exceed its permitted storage capacity.”

“They have this mountain of debris,” Davies said, according to a report by The Times Leader. “(The excess is) about 500 truckloads more than what they’re supposed to have. 4K is working with ODNR to try to remedy the situation.”

4K Industrial is the company to which Austin Master appears to have hastily sold its facility.

Members of Concerned Ohio River Residents let loose during that council meeting, reminding city officials of worries expressed years ago. While neither side had a crystal ball, it appears as though many of the concerns expressed did not inform policy decisions when it came to permitting and inspections.

Davies rightly pointed out the permit for Austin Master’s operation at the site was not granted by the city. That was the ODNR. He does say he plans to meet with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency soon.

In the meantime, the mess is a reminder both of how eager local and state officials were to cash in on what we were promised would be an economic savior — perhaps not always dotting the Is and crossing the Ts as permits were issued; and that inspection and monitoring of these facilities must be frequent and come with truly punitive consequences for failures.

Penalties for endangering Ohio residents must not be absorbable as a cost of doing business, nor should they be easily escaped with a strategically filed bankruptcy. Our communities deserve that, at the least.