Monroe County Oil Company Owner Sentenced for Illegally Dumping Brine Water

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A local oil company owner was sentenced to prison and fined for violating the Clean Water Act by dumping brine water into a roadside ditch.

Donald E. Hercher, 67, of Sycamore Valley, Ohio was sentenced to a $70,000 fine, four days in prison and two years of probation for violating the Clean Water Act.

According to court documents, Hercher, the owner of Hercher Oil Company in Monroe County, was discharging approximately 50 gallons of oily brine water per week from oil and gas wells into a roadside ditch near Rias Run, which eventually flows into the Ohio River.

Hercher pleaded guilty on January 12 to unpermitted discharge under the Clean Water Act.

As part of his sentence, Hercher was also ordered to pay $5,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and complete 104 hours of community service in Monroe County.

Hercher will be required to submit a statement to Southeast Ohio Oil and Gas Producers and Ohio Oil and Gas Association, cautioning others in the oil and gas industry to avoid taking similar actions.

He has also been ordered to prepare an article to be published in at least three trade journals in which he educates the readers on the “Mississippian Exemption” and how it has no application to the Waterways of the United States.

Hercher must register all of his wells and ensure they are within compliance with state laws within 90 days.

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