Safe Drinking Water and the Environment: Wenda Sheard’s Positions

Candidate: Wenda Sheard (Democrat) Office: Ohio House of Representatives, District 94 (all of Meigs and Washington counties, plus the outskirts of Athens County, not including the city of Athens) Election: November 3, 2026 Information current as of: October 1, 2026

Quick Summary

Safe drinking water is one of Wenda Sheard’s main campaign priorities, with a focus on injection wells in Washington County. Sheard supports a temporary pause (a moratorium) on injection wells– it is the first issue she will lead on if elected. She wants new state laws to protect water. Climate change is a serious threat; local people should decide what kind of development comes to their area.

What Injection Wells Are

Injection wells are deep holes where companies pump in toxic waste. Class II injection wells pump radioactive fracking waste left over from horizontal oil and gas drilling into the ground under pressure. The waste has moved underground and ruined many conventional oil and wells, and threatened drinking water. Much of the waste in District 94 comes from other states. 

Sheard’s Position on Injection Wells

  • A moratorium. A moratorium is a temporary stop. Sheard believes Washington County needs one. The City of Marietta, five water boards in Washington County, two township trustee boards, and one village council have voted for an injection well moratorium. The state needs time to study the dangers, and the dangers have been increasing. Marietta has asked for a three-year state pause, and Sheard supports the city’s call.
  • Top priority. Sheard has named a moratorium on injection wells in Washington County as a top priority. It is an obvious emergency because it involves drinking water. It may be a matter of whether the community survives.
  • The cost of the alternative. If the water is made unsafe due to injection wells, the community might need to bear the staggering costs of trucking all the drinking, bathing, and cooking water into Washington County. 
  • Local governments cannot fix this alone. Ohio’s state agency for natural resources (ODNR) controls the rules for oil and gas disposal, so cities and counties cannot use local zoning to block it. The fix must come from the state.
  • New state laws should do three things:
    1. Require agencies to serve the public rather than private companies.
    2. Make injection well owners and operators pay for damage to water supplies and damage to conventional oil and gas wells.
    3. Make state agencies shut down injection wells that endanger the public.
  • A specific shutdown rule. Sheard would work to require the Division of Oil and Gas at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to shut down injection wells whenever the division has proof of any one of these:
    1. Toxic, radioactive fluid injected under pressure has moved beyond the area where it is allowed to be.
    2. The fluid has ruined conventional oil and gas wells or water wells.
    3. The fluid has moved up to the surface.
  • Enforcement, not just watching. State regulators should move from passively “monitoring” to actively enforcing laws.
  • Higher taxes on injection well owners. They do not pay enough, given the dangers involved in this activity.
  • Listening to local officials. Lawmakers must listen to local officials about the threats to water supplies. Republican officials in Washington County have invited Sheard to take part in meetings that led to local bodies asking the state for a moratorium.
  • Already taking action. Sheard has joined hundreds of residents in contacting officials, holding public meetings, talking to the press, and asking the state for a moratorium. She has also contacted state representatives from other areas when the ones for her own area would not help.
  • A non-partisan issue. Contaminated water affects people no matter which party they belong to. District 94 residents worried about their drinking water deserve a voice in Columbus.

Sheard’s Position on Development and the Environment

  • Local control. Whatever development comes to a county should be what the people there want. It should be safe for the environment, and not harm the county in the long term. These decisions should be made by people in the area, not by people far away or in foreign countries.
  • Balancing jobs and the environment. Along the Ohio River, Sheard will continue to listen to experts and community members, speak in the legislature for what residents want, and propose or change bills when needed. Decisions about the economy and the environment must never harm future generations of Ohioans.
  • Industries that take more than they give. The region has often seen industries come in and exploit the community, such as coal, now injection wells, and possibly data centers. Too many decisions about local development have not helped local people. For more on data centers, see the Government Accountability and Fairness page.
  • Climate change. Sheard’s website states that, like the rest of the world, the district faces the threat of climate change. It is a threat so serious that many people avoid thinking about it. 
  • Environmental experience. As an attorney, Sheard has represented clients in environmental cases. In 2016, she was trained as a member of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps. She has spoken to numerous community groups about human-caused climate change.
  • Environmental group support. Save Ohio Parks, in 2026, and the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund, in 2024, have endorsed Sheard.