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Commissioners recount testimony warning about injecting refinery byproducts into abandoned wells
Summary
During the Sept. 25 meeting, commissioners reported testimony from a Conrad hearing where residents and stakeholders voiced strong objections to a proposal to inject refinery byproducts into abandoned oil wells, citing concerns about aquifer contamination, long-term migration and seismic risk.
At a regular Fergus County Commission meeting on Sept. 25, commissioners described testimony they heard at a public hearing in Conrad that raised alarms about a proposal to inject refinery byproducts into abandoned oil wells.
A commissioner reported that about 44 people testified at the Conrad hearings, representing communities across central Montana including Roundup, and that many speakers worried the injections could threaten the Madison aquifer. Commissioners recounted that commenters said the application expands the area where injections would be allowed and warned of long-term migration of contaminants; one summarized account in the meeting said testifiers told them "in 10,000 years it could migrate." The meeting transcript shows commissioners urging constituents to make their concerns known and agreeing to share links and documentation of the hearing.
Those who testified at the Conrad hearing, as described to the Fergus County board, told commissioners that the material proposed for injection is a refinery byproduct from a Great Falls facility and that opponents said the practice was performed at smaller scale previously but that the new application broadens the footprint. Some speakers relayed historical concerns about induced seismicity where high-pressure injections were used elsewhere decades ago and noted requests for more water-sampling data; the commissioners said neighboring county officials had repeatedly asked for samples without receiving sufficient information.
Commissioners did not take regulatory action on the matter at the Fergus County meeting. Instead, they said they would collect and circulate links and materials from the Conrad hearing for further review. The remarks were a report of outside testimony rather than new county findings. The commission encouraged residents who are concerned to register their views with the agencies reviewing the Conrad application and to contact county officials to request additional information.
Next steps noted in the meeting included circulating the hearing slides and links and following up by email; no formal county position or directive was adopted at the Sept. 25 meeting.
