Wastewater well near Mitchell approved

An application for a wastewater well near Mitchell was approved on Wednesday.

The Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission gave the go ahead for the project in a 2-0 vote during a brief special meeting at its Sidney headquarters on Illinois Street. Commissioner Robert Goodwin recused himself from the proceedings due to a conflict of interest.

While approving the wastewater well, commissioners set a maximum pressure limit at which the fluid can be injected at the surface and also limited the site to 5,000 barrels a day – a reduction from the 10,000 barrels a day sought in the application.

The proposed well has drawn state and national media attention to the commission that has largely functioned out of the spotlight.

The decision will allow Colorado-based Terex Energy to convert an oil well about 14 miles north of Mitchell into an injection site for contaminated water captured through the oil and gas production process.

When oil is pumped from the ground, it contains some amount of brine that must be filtered out.

In the case of hydraulic fracturing – when a mixture of water, sand and a chemical mix is injected under high pressure in the ground to create fractures in shale fields that allow trapped oil to be released – the filtered wastewater also contains some amount of chemicals.

The amount of water-to-oil produced varies at each well, and over the lifetime of the well, but can reach 10-to-1 – or higher.

Because that wastewater can wreck havoc on the environment above ground, it is injected under low pressure through wells back underground.

The commission held a public hearing last month regarding the application.

Although there are already more than 100 wastewater disposal wells in nine counties throughout Nebraska – including here in Cheyenne County – the scale and scope of the proposed project incited a tremendous reaction.

Counties, towns and a public health board; nearby landowners, residents and students; even state politicians, began a campaign against the wastewater well – and Terex – through public meetings, the media, official objections and even proposed legislation. More than 3,000 Nebraskans even signed a petition against the well.

In recent weeks, the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club and Bold Nebraska have filed a complaint with the state attorney general alleging last month's meeting violated state statues.

Earlier this week, seven Nebraska senators sent a letter to the commission requesting a decision on the application be denied or delayed until the legislature can examine the matter.

While Monday's special meeting lasted less than 10 minutes, Bill Sydow, the commission's director, and commissioners Thomas Oliver and John Rundel took questions from people present at the meeting for more than two hours.

In response to a question, Sydow said the application could be appealed to the district court within 30 days. The commission, however, would not involved in the process, he said, as it would only involve Terex and the protesting party.