Groups File Petition Against Proposed Injection Well Near El Reno

The City of El Reno and the Cheyanne Arapaho Tribe are among a number of groups fighting a proposed wastewater injection well.  The well would be north of El Reno, near the Darlington School.

The groups have filed a protest with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, and a hearing has been scheduled for mid-June.

The proposed injection well would be off Highway 81 just North of the El Reno City Limits, less than 200 yards from Darlington School and about a mile away from the Cheyanne Arapaho Lucky Star Casino. And none of those groups are happy about it.

“We don’t need that there, no way,” said Loren Tackett is Superintendent of Darlington School.

Tackett points out you would easily be able to see the well from the school's playground. 

“There’s a lot of problems below the ground, but one of my main concerns is above the ground. Spills, the smell, anything like that. Right now, we have a south wind. My kids are going to be eating that all day long if there are those kinds of things,” Tackett.

The other groups, however, are concerned about what's below the ground.

“We are concerned that there potentially could be a leak from the casing or the cement joins and if that gets into our ground water we’re going to have a problem on our hands,” said David Griesel who owns a cattle ranch nearby.

Area landowners, as well as the City of El Reno and the Cheyanne Arapaho Tribe, all have a water supply near the proposed well.

“It may not do anything but we’re not willing to take the gamble to see what happens with our water, it’s not worth it,” said Lt. Governor Gilbert Miles of Cheyanne Arapahoe Tribe.

The groups also say they have concerns about property values and seismic activity, as well as increased traffic.

News 9 reached out to the H20K who filed the application for the injection well, but our calls weren’t returned.