A hearing is scheduled next month in Austin on a challenge by the City of Midland to applications for disposal wells in west Texas near a source of its drinking water. Pilot Water Solutions is asking to inject oil and gas wastewater deep underground near T-Bar Ranch, where Midland gets 30-to-35 percent of its water from 42 water wells. Texas Tribune reported that the hearing before two administrative judges of Railroad Commission of Texas is scheduled Jan. 8-11 “to deny or modify the permits or approve them as is.”
Midland mayor Lori Blong, who testified in Austin at a meeting in June, said, “All saltwater disposal well construction procedures and applications are not created equal, and across Texas they must demonstrate that groundwater is protected.” Zachary Neal, executive vice president at Pilot, said the company has introduced multiple layers of protection in the proposed wells and will take groundwater samples to monitor the safety of Midland’s water supply. The steps “exceed regulatory requirements,” Neal said.
Midland acquired T-Bar Ranch in 1965 with 20,229 acres in Winkler County and completed a 67-mile pipeline in 2013. Tribune said in 2022 Pilot applied to drill 18 disposal wells near the ranch.