Council approves three-well pad near NW 16th with 24-foot sound walls and truck conditions

The Newcastle City Council on April 14 approved conditional‑use permits for three oil-and-gas wells to be drilled on a single pad site in the southwest quarter of Section 9 (the pad sits north of NW 16th Street and east of North Rockwell). Planning staff and the applicant presented required setbacks, noise‑mitigation measures and a truck route. Council voted to approve each permit with identical stipulations: 24‑foot sound walls on the pad’s sides (except at the entrance where the wall is partial), flaggers on Highway 76 during periods of heavy construction traffic and acknowledgment of a reduced‑setback waiver signed by the adjacent property owner to the east.

Planning staff said the proposal includes three boreholes on a roughly 3.98‑acre pad and that the operator submitted required Oklahoma Corporation Commission permits, a truck‑route plan, a mitigation plan and an ambient noise study. One setback — the 660‑foot wellbore‑to‑protected‑use radius — was short of the standard at roughly 441 feet for the parcel directly east; the applicant provided a signed waiver from that property owner. Planning staff cited Chapter 113.067, the city’s oil‑and‑gas setback rules, in its packet and briefing.

Public commenters raised concerns about noise, drainage, truck traffic and safety. Jennifer Prince said previous nearby construction had changed drainage patterns and that her property now floods when it rains; she asked the applicant to commit to directing surface runoff away from residences. Other residents asked the council to require extensive sound mitigation and to limit truck routes during the period when the pad is constructed and hydraulically fractured.

The applicant said the pad will drain to the northeast and that the proposed site is higher in elevation than nearby roads and homes; the operator said the pad’s grading and the 24‑foot acoustic blankets and walls should reduce sound at nearby residences. The operator also said it plans a concrete apron and a long leased entrance road so heavy trucks can queue off NW 16th Street and avoid blocking the public way; it said truck routes would be coordinated with city staff. The operator said produced water collection and gas‑marketing pipeline work are being pursued to reduce long‑term truck traffic by piping produced water and gas off site rather than trucking it.

Council members pressed for strong mitigation measures, asked staff to monitor compliance and added the highway‑flagger stipulation for heavy traffic periods. The motions to approve the three conditional‑use permits passed on roll call votes.