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Industry witness tells committee well design is proven and monitored; permits required
Summary
An industry representative told the committee that deep injection wells use negative pressure and continuous monitoring and that permits take years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars; committee members pressed on capacity and property rights.
A representative for Injection Disposal Services described the design and safety features of deep injection wells and answered committee questions about capacity and permitting.
The witness said the wells are drilled to depths of roughly 9,000 feet, built with negative-pressure designs to avoid upward pressure, and monitored continuously; the representative added the company has had no regulatory issues since 2019. "The well is designed with negative pressure ... we've had no issues whatsoever," the witness said. The panel also heard that permitting is an extensive process (three to five years) and that well construction costs and geology will limit the number of feasible commercial sites in Mississippi.
Committee members raised property-rights questions about surface vs. mineral interests and whether new commercial wells would require ownership of both interests. Witnesses responded that permitting is required and that existing captive wells would need permit changes before accepting commercial hazardous waste.
