A while back, the SPUD published an article about the fracking wastewater well that was proposed to be installed in rural Sioux County. This article outlined the perspective positives as well as the perspective negatives. Considering the negatives completely outweighed the positives, it should have been an easy decision to deny the usage of this wastewater well.

Many people do not understand fracking and the ecological side effects that it can have on the environment. Fracking is basically the harvesting of natural gas from Marcellus Shale deep underground. In order to release this gas, the shale must first be fractured, thus the name. This is done by mixing in a concoction of chemicals into perfectly drinkable water that is then pumped into a hole that has exposed the shale. While this cocktail does do its duty to fracture the shale, it also makes the water toxic and unusable. With that in mind, only someone with either a complete lack of knowledge of ecology or the selfishness to kill our environment for the sake of industry would decide that our beautiful state should be the recipient of this pernicious dumpoff.

Sadly, the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (NOGCC) decided to ignore the undeniable negatives and the 70% of Nebraskans who were against this well. The NOGCC is a group of unelected officials whose mission statement clearly states that they wish to have the best utilization of our natural resources while still protecting our environment. Putting tens of millions of gallons of a liquid that is as deviated from water as motor oil into the ground is the opposite of protecting our environment.

With a change in perspective, it is apparent why T-Rex Oil, Incorporated chose Nebraska as the beneficiary of their malicious byproduct. Legislators within Nebraska have simply sat on their hands when it came to how they deal with issues like this. Nebraska’s law on the issue of dumping states that the company who is doing the dumping does not have to tell the public what they are putting into the ground. This makes Nebraska an optimal location for dumping due to its potential for dumping with considerably less public intervention. This needs to change.

Legislators need to act on this and act on it quick. A leak or spill from this well could mean disaster for not only Sioux County, but also any part of the US connected to Sioux County via the Ogallala Aquifer.

Nebraska is not the nation’s landfill. Legislature needs to be put in place that will prevent our great state from being abused in the future.