Here’s perhaps the quote of the past week: “The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated. We are operating quickly to make sure contamination can be avoided and we protect Ohioans and the waterways we share.”

That from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost who is seeking to have Austin Master Services and its operator, Brad D. Domitrovitsch, held in contempt of court for failing to clean up an oil and gas drilling waste processing facility near the Ohio River in Martins Ferry.

That facility, in a portion of the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel plant, allegedly holds about 10,000 tons of waste, Yost has said, even though it is permitted to store only 600 tons. A restraining order issued in Belmont County Common Pleas Court had ordered the facility to be cleaned up by April 17. According to Yost, that hasn’t happened.

Yost noted Austin Master has allowed liquid waste to flow uncontained on the facility’s floor and that it used unpermitted storage containers. That led to heightened concern a few weeks ago when the Ohio River came out of its banks. The waste recycling site is located about 500 feet from the river.

On Thursday, members of Martins Ferry City Council drafted a letter to send to state officials voicing their concern.

“The conditions at the Austin Master facility … are beyond comprehension,” council members wrote. “They show a knowing, deliberate defiance to the limits of their permit.”

So, where do Martins Ferry leaders go from here? At some point the court system — or state regulatory agencies –are going to have to do more than ask Austin Master to comply. Allowing this facility to continue to operate this far outside the boundaries of its permit is simply unacceptable.