NEW HARMONY, IN — An oil company's proposal to pump brine in underground wells is scaring some locals who think it will leak and contaminate their well water.
Petco Petroleum Corp., based in Hinsdale, IL, wants to build a second backup well to capture brine, a byproduct of crude oil when it is excavated. One Petco well in New Harmony already takes brine, according to Petco President J.D. Bergman.
"People think it's crude oil right out of the ground, but it's mostly salt," said Bergman.
More than two dozen neighbors voiced opposition at a recent meeting to the company's plan to inject a well with 1,000 gallons of brine a day, according to the Evansville Courier & Press.
Bergman said the neighbors are "well meaning but uninformed people."
He said there's "virtually no way" groundwater surrounding the well could be contaminated because of the well's steel and cement casing that follows Indiana's strict environmental laws.
Petco operates around 400 other such wells, including one already in New Harmony, and none of them have leaked, Bergman said. This proposed well would be 2,000 to 3,000 feet deep, he said.
Petco is currently waiting for a permit from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to inject up to 1,000 gallons of brine a day into the proposed well.
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