Illegal salt water disposal still an issue

CARLSBAD — Every morning, Lon Lawrence of Carlsbad goes on a walk with his wife and dog around his property near Boyd and Hildago Roads.

Friday morning, while on his walk, Lawrence came across what appeared to be spilled salt water from an oil well tank.

The smell of the green water was repugnant and it had a slimy appearance.

Lawrence, who said he wasn't very knowledgeable about the oil and gas industry, assumed that what they came across Friday morning was a byproduct of an oil well located directly next to the road near which the spill was found.

"We have laws to prohibit toxic waste from being dumped on our land," Lawrence said. "I am hoping that by me bringing attention to what I've come across we can put an end to this happening."

Lawrence said when walking on Thursday morning the spill had not been on the road, the rest of the ground in the nearby area was dry and showed no signs that a spill occurred elsewhere. Lawrence believed that it most likely came from the well located next to the spill.

He also said this wasn't the first time he had come across this type of water spill on the road, and he has seen water-hauler trucks before driving down the roads, spraying and dumping water onto the roadside.

Jim Amos, supervisory environmental protection specialist with the Bureau of Land Management, said that typically, salt water from an oil well is deposited at a disposal well, but that spills similar to the one Lawrence found occur often across the county and the state.

"It's hard to catch them," Amos said, referring to truck haulers who illegally dump the salt water. The truck haulers are supposed to pick up the waste water from the well site and take it to the disposal facility.

Amos said that spills like the one Lawrence found usually come from water being dumped from a truck hauling the water, and the spilled salt water may not have necessarily been from the well in the area.

"There's not a lot of people to monitor what trucking companies are going in and out of these well sites to track who has spilled the water or not," Amos said.

Salt water, Amos explained, is the water extracted while drilling for oil. Residue settles at the top of the well with the water, causing it to be contaminated.

He also said chlorides and other toxins in the water can kill the vegetation if not hauled off.

Lawrence said the discovery of the waste water on his property is concerning, partly because his dog got into it, and other animals may also get into it.

"It is not the well operators that are doing this, but its usually a third party hired to transport the water away from the well site," Amos said, adding that many spills occur accidentally, but there are some haulers looking for shortcuts or ways to avoid paying high disposal fees.

Amos said when these spills occur on federal land, the party responsible for the spill is required to go in front of a federal judge, according to federal regulation.

He said that for wells on private and state land, state regulations typically apply.

Amos said that the Oil Conservation Division office located in Artesia, would generally oversee reported spills on private or state land.

The owner of the well located near the discovered spill was contacted by the Current-Argus, but would not comment on the water found nearby.

Sarah Matott can be reached at 575-628-5546.