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Injection well permit stalled for now
  
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By LUCRETIA CARDENAS and TANA ROSS
On Nov. 19, more than 200 people from Montgomery County traveled to Austin to hear the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners refuse to grant a permit sought by TexCom Gulf Disposal of Houston to inject wastewater into an existing well in the old Conroe Oilfield.
The commissioners agreed with Montgomery County authorities that TexCom did not fulfill its burden of proof to show the injection wells are safe from infiltrating the underground aquifer, which residents depend on for drinking water.
However while the TCEQ commissioners ordered TexCom to retest its well to determine whether or not faults in the ground could be leaky, they allowed the results to be brought back in six months for consideration. Several from the Magnolia area who rode buses to the hearing were disappointed, according to community activist Billy Thompson who represented the East 1488 Community Association.
“It really surprised me that the TCEQ board would recommend TexCom come back and resubmit in six months. I believe the TCEQ is at a loss,” he said. “If it is not toxic, why are they spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring it here?”
At question by the TCEQ are possible leaks. If the well faults are leaky, the wastewater could possibly move up toward the aquifer through any of the more than 500 abandoned oil wells in the Conroe Oilfield, located off Creighton Road.
The results of the testing will be brought in six months before the State Office of Administrative Hearing judges, who will issue an opinion that will send the issue before the TCEQ commissioners again for consideration.
The SOAH judges heard the initial hearing on the permit in December 2007. Attorneys representing TexCom, the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, Montgomery County, the city of Conroe and aligned residents were all present. Differing test results on the stability of the well were offered during that hearing by geologists from TexCom and the LSGCD.
In May the SOAH judges recommended the permit be granted as long as TexCom was required to retest its well after it was perforated — a common well practice that allows more fluid to flow into the well. TexCom attorney John Riley said last Wednesday the company always intended to perforate the well, and offered estimated numbers. However, TCEQ commissioners requested precise figures.
In addition to retesting the well’s stability, the TCEQ commissioners asked TexCom to provide evidence that the well is in the public interest, as counsel for the Texas Attorney General’s Office said TexCom failed to present alternatives for disposal of wastewater.
While the nearly 200 Montgomery County residents at the TCEQ hearing were not thrilled about the decision, they remain hopeful. If TexCom’s new test results match the results of LSGCD’s geologist, the TCEQ commissioners may not approve the permit.
With the process stalled, Montgomery County lawmakers have a chance to possibly pass legislation that would hinder or even prohibit wastewater from being injected in the well. State Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, and Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, recently filed bills that regulate injection well locations and operations. The 81st state Legislature begins in January.
At a Magnolia Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 20, Thompson asked the public to e-mail their thanks to elected officials at the hearing and warned that watchdog groups like the East 1488 Community Association would be staying up with the permit status.
“I think we will be asking Nichols and Creighton to look into making it more difficult for these type wells to be permitted,” he said. “We will be keeping an eye on the situation.”
Nichols, Creighton and Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, attended the Nov. 19 hearing and spoke on behalf of the residents. Montgomery County Precinct 2 and Precinct 4 Commissioners Craig Doyal and Ed Rinehart also voiced their support for residents’ concerns.
“When we have delays for construction on Interstate 45 because a red-cockaded woodpecker was spotted and more delays when a salamander was spotted … I don’t know why we’re even considering injecting toxic chemicals into the ground,” Doyal said.
The commissioners agreed with Montgomery County authorities that TexCom did not fulfill its burden of proof to show the injection wells are safe from infiltrating the underground aquifer, which residents depend on for drinking water.
However while the TCEQ commissioners ordered TexCom to retest its well to determine whether or not faults in the ground could be leaky, they allowed the results to be brought back in six months for consideration. Several from the Magnolia area who rode buses to the hearing were disappointed, according to community activist Billy Thompson who represented the East 1488 Community Association.
“It really surprised me that the TCEQ board would recommend TexCom come back and resubmit in six months. I believe the TCEQ is at a loss,” he said. “If it is not toxic, why are they spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring it here?”
At question by the TCEQ are possible leaks. If the well faults are leaky, the wastewater could possibly move up toward the aquifer through any of the more than 500 abandoned oil wells in the Conroe Oilfield, located off Creighton Road.
The results of the testing will be brought in six months before the State Office of Administrative Hearing judges, who will issue an opinion that will send the issue before the TCEQ commissioners again for consideration.
The SOAH judges heard the initial hearing on the permit in December 2007. Attorneys representing TexCom, the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, Montgomery County, the city of Conroe and aligned residents were all present. Differing test results on the stability of the well were offered during that hearing by geologists from TexCom and the LSGCD.
In May the SOAH judges recommended the permit be granted as long as TexCom was required to retest its well after it was perforated — a common well practice that allows more fluid to flow into the well. TexCom attorney John Riley said last Wednesday the company always intended to perforate the well, and offered estimated numbers. However, TCEQ commissioners requested precise figures.
In addition to retesting the well’s stability, the TCEQ commissioners asked TexCom to provide evidence that the well is in the public interest, as counsel for the Texas Attorney General’s Office said TexCom failed to present alternatives for disposal of wastewater.
While the nearly 200 Montgomery County residents at the TCEQ hearing were not thrilled about the decision, they remain hopeful. If TexCom’s new test results match the results of LSGCD’s geologist, the TCEQ commissioners may not approve the permit.
With the process stalled, Montgomery County lawmakers have a chance to possibly pass legislation that would hinder or even prohibit wastewater from being injected in the well. State Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, and Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, recently filed bills that regulate injection well locations and operations. The 81st state Legislature begins in January.
At a Magnolia Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 20, Thompson asked the public to e-mail their thanks to elected officials at the hearing and warned that watchdog groups like the East 1488 Community Association would be staying up with the permit status.
“I think we will be asking Nichols and Creighton to look into making it more difficult for these type wells to be permitted,” he said. “We will be keeping an eye on the situation.”
Nichols, Creighton and Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, attended the Nov. 19 hearing and spoke on behalf of the residents. Montgomery County Precinct 2 and Precinct 4 Commissioners Craig Doyal and Ed Rinehart also voiced their support for residents’ concerns.
“When we have delays for construction on Interstate 45 because a red-cockaded woodpecker was spotted and more delays when a salamander was spotted … I don’t know why we’re even considering injecting toxic chemicals into the ground,” Doyal said.
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