BEFORE THE CORPORATION COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
APPLICANT:
COBALT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS, LLC) APPLICATION
) NO. 1600480147
)
)
RELIEF
SOUGHT:
AUTHORIZATION TO DRILL AND COMPLETE) CAUSE PD NO.
) 201500082
THE COBALT MADILL SWD NO.1 AS A
COMMERCIAL SALTWATER DISPOSAL WELL)
LEGAL
DESCRIPTION
NW/4 NE/4 NE/4 OF SECTION 11, TOWNSHIP ) •
MAR 302016
6 SOUTH, RANGE 4 EAST, MARSHALL
)
COUNTY, OKLAHOMA
COURT CLERICS OFFICE - 0KG
ILE
CORPORATION COMMISSION
OF OKLAHOMA
REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE
This cause came on for hearing before David D. Leavitt, Administrative Law Judge for the
Corporation Commission of the State of Oklahoma, on the 21 " day of October, 2015, at 9:00
a.m. in the Commission's Courtroom, Jim Thorpe Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, pursuant
to notice given as required by law and the rules of the Commission for the purpose of taking
testimony and reporting to the Commission. The Administrative Law Judge ("AU") proceeded
to hear this cause and reports the following findings.
SUMMARY OF THE CAUSE
On July 16, 2015, Cobalt Environmental Solutions LLC ("Cobalt") filed a Form 1015
Application for Administrative Approval requesting that the Commission issue a permit to
operate the Cobalt Madill SWD No. 1 Well on land described as the NW/4 of the NE/4 of the
NE/4 of Section 11, Township 6 South, Range 4 East, Marshall County, Oklahoma. The
Application noted that there were no offset operators in the adjacent sections.
The Application also noted that the well was to be a commercial saltwater disposal well
taking fluids from various formations in the surrounding area and disposing of the fluids in the
Deese formation. The Application was amended during the hearing to list the following
parameters of the well:
Wellbore: single vertical wellbore.
Geologic name of the source of the fluids: various formations.
Geologic name of the disposal formation: Deese formation.
Perforation of injection interval: 4,020 to 7,800 feet TD.
Base of treatable water: 520 feet.
PD 201500082— COBALT DISPOSAL, LLC
Intervening thickness: 3,500 feet.
Requested injection rate: 19,000 BPD
Requested injection pressure at surface: 2,000 psi
Surface casing setting depth: 600 feet.
Production tubing setting depth: 7,000 feet.
Production tubing size: 7 inches.
Porosity: 19%.
Permeability: 55 millidarcies (MD).
Attached to the Application or to be submitted later to the Commission were the following
documents or submittals:
$100.00 filing fee.
Proof of the publication of the Application in Marshall and Oklahoma counties.
Affidavit of mailing or delivery to those respondents entitled to notice.
Signed analysis of fresh water from two or more producing wells within a one mile radius of
the Cobalt Well.
Proof of surety bond.
Signed analysis of a representative sample of the water to be injected.
Plat showing the location of the proposed Cobalt SWD No. 1 Well ("Cobalt Well"), all
producing, abandoned and dry hole oil and gas wells and their depths within V2 mile of
the proposed well.
Form 1002A.
Electric or radioactivity log of the proposed well.
Schematic drawing of the welibore.
Sometime after the Application was submitted to the Underground Injection Control
Department of the Commission ("UIC") for approval, the Application was tentatively approved
pending an evaluation of whether the well was located in a seismically active area. The UIC staff
determined that the well was not in a seismically active "yellow" zone or "zone of interest".'
The Application was subsequently protested by many protestants, including parties that
.2
owned property in close proximity to the Cobalt Well "The hearing was held on October 21,
2015 and the ALJ issued a report after receiving and reviewing all of the transcripts.
'The "traffic light" system was first put in place by the Commission in 2013 in response to the concerns over the
possibility of earthquake activity being caused by oil and gas wastewater disposal wells in Oklahoma. The "yellow
light" permitting program requires seismicity review for any disposal well and requires special permitting based on
seismicity concerns to any well proposed within 3 miles of a stressed fault, even in the absence of seismicity and any
disposal well within 6 miles (10 kilometers) of an earthquake "swarm" or magnitude 4.0 event. Very recently, the
Commission expanded the traffic light review system to encompass areas of interest defined as: (1) areas
experiencing seismic swarms consisting of at least two events with epicenters within 1/4 mile of one another, with at
least one event with a magnitude 3.0 or higher; (2) a ten (10) kilometers area (approximately six miles) with the
central mass of the swarm serving as the area center.
2
The names of the Protestants that identified themselves on a Sign-up Sheet on the date of the hearing were:
Tommy Hardin, Kevin Eppler, Don Melton, Paula Ayres, Kelly Goff, Magdalena DeLaPaz, Kasie Pense, Tiffany
Robinson, Samantha Await, Gary Ayres and Ronald Nunley.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
After taking into consideration all of the facts, circumstances, evidence and testimony
presented in both causes, it is the recommendation of the AU that Cobalt's Application be
granted under an Interim Order subject to the following conditions:
a. Prior to commencement of operations, Cobalt shall complete a radius of endangerment
calculation to show that operation of the Cobalt Well would not raise water up in the
Little Well located in the NW/4 of the SW/4 of the SE/4 of Section 1, T6S, R4E in
Marshall County to within 100 feet of the base of treatable water and present the study to
the UIC for review upon which the UIC will either approve or revise the operating
parameters of the Application;
b. If the original Application is not approved by the UIC based upon the results of the a
radius of endangerment calculation, Cobalt shall either agree to operate the Cobalt Well
at the revised flowrates and pressures required by the UIC, or properly plug the Little
Well in compliance with the requirements of the UIC;
c. Prior to commencement of commercial operations and after the well is drilled, Cobalt
shall take an initial bottomhole pressure measurement from the Cobalt Well and run a
MIT test on the well;
d. Commence commercial operations at either the injection rate and surface pressure set
forth in the approved Application or at the revised injection rate and pressures required
byUIC;
e. Complete an annual bottom-hole pressure measurement for the Cobalt Well to identify
potential problems; shut down the Cobalt Well if a seismic event of a magnitude 3.0 or
greater occurs within a 10 mile radius of the well after commencement of operations.
APPEARANCES
At the time of the hearing, Cheri Wheeler, attorney, appeared on behalf of Cobalt
Environmental Solutions, LLC; Richard J. Gore, attorney, appeared on behalf of the City of
Madill; and Patricia Case, Assistant General Counsel, appeared on behalf of the Underground
Injection Department of the Oil and Gas Conservation Division of the Oklahoma Corporation
Commission. Also appearing were Robert Moore and Gary Hucks with the Marshall County
Water Corporation and Tommy C. Hardin, Oklahoma House of Representatives. Appearing pro
se were Paula Ayers, Gary Ayers, Kevin Eppler, the Mayor if the City of Madill, Oklahoma, Don
Protestants Diane Kathryn and Brent Henry wrote letters of protest.
4 See
Exhibit "A" at the back of the Report for the names of the Protestants that filed a Notice of Protest.
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Melton, a County Commissioner of Marshall County, Oklahoma, Josh Brecheen and Ronald
Nunley, Wesley Eldridge, Megan Louis, Terry Eldridge, and Sam Goodwin. Others appearing
were Kelly Goff, Magdalena DeLaPaz, Kasie Pense, Tiffany Robinson and Samantha Await,
from the Madill Public Schools.
JURISDICTION
The Commission has jurisdiction over the subject matter and notice has been given in all
respects as required by law and the rules of the Commission, including publication notice made
more that 15 days prior to the date of the of the hearing in Oklahoma and Marshall Counties.
EXHIBITS
Exhibit 1- a selection of documents comprising: a notice soliciting a protest against the
Application to drill a salt water disposal well published in the Madill Record on Thursday
August 27, 2015; a topographical map showing the location of the Cobalt Well and related
landmarks; a Form 1015 for the Cobalt Well dated July 10, 2015; a well plat centered around
the proposed Cobalt Well showing the wells within a V2 mile and I mile radius; a wellbore
schematic for the proposed Cobalt Well; a Surface Geology Map for the proposed Cobalt
Well; several type logs from the proposed Cobalt Well; a structure contour map showing
the base of the Antlers Sand; another wellbore schematic of the proposed Cobalt Well; aerial
map showing the dendritic drainage patterns from the Cobalt Well towards llauani Creek
Lake; aerial photograph of the Cobalt Well; topographical map of the area around the Cobalt
Well; a welibore schematic for the proposed Cobalt Well showing the corrosion protection
tubing; photographs of the proposed Cobalt Well unloading facility; photographs of the
proposed Cobalt Well tank battery.
Exhibit 2— a copy of a presentation on seismicity prepared by Dr. Kyle Murray.
Exhibit 3- a cover sheet depicting a collaborative work between the Stanford Center for
Induced and Triggered Seismicity and the University of Oklahoma School of Geology and
Geophysics concerning the Fluid production and Injection Budget for the Arbuckle.
Exhibit 4— a fault map showing all of the known faults and their orientation in the vicinity of
the Cobalt Well.
Exhibit 5 —an expanded fault map showing all of the known faults and their orientation in the
vicinity of the Cobalt Well.
Exhibit 6- a topographical map of the six section area around the Cobalt Well.
Exhibit 7— a topographical map of 72 sections surrounding and including the area around the
Cobalt Well showing the proximity to Hauani Creek.
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Exhibit 8 - a production map of 72 sections surrounding and including the area around the
Cobalt Well showing the cross sectional plot of the related type wells.
Exhibit 9 - a base Deese structure map of 72 sections surrounding and including the area
around the Cobalt Well.
Exhibit 10— a description of the Little 1 Scout Card.
Exhibit 11 - a description of the Lucille Woody 1 Scout Card.
Exhibit 12— a description of the Lucille Woody 1 Form 1002A.
Exhibit 13 - a description of the Lucille Woody 1 plugging record.
Exhibit 14 - a type log.
Exhibit 15 - type logs for the McIver No. 1 Well located in the N/2 of the N/2 of the SW/4 of
Section 6, T65, R4E; the Little 1 Well located in the NW/4 of the SW/4 of the SE/4 of
Section 1, T6S, R4E; and the Lucille Woody No. I Well located in the SW/4 of the SW/4 of
Section 6, T6S, R4E.
Exhibit 16 - a series of documents including: a production map from PD 20150082 for
Section 5, T8N, R18E, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma; a photograph of the lease sign for the
M. Garis No. 1-8 Well in Section 8, T7N, R18E. Pittsburg County, Oklahoma; a photograph
of a spill of produced water from the M. Garis No. 1-8 Well; another photograph from the
same well; a third photograph from the same well.
Exhibit 17 - a copy of the UIC 1997 Operator's guide to filing UIC Applications and
Reports; 0CC rules of Practice 165: 5-7-27 (b)(1)..
Exhibit 18 - a Schematic Drawing of the Geological Limitations of a Sand Pinchout from a
Wellbore.
Exhibit 19— a well location plat identifying purge wells drilled through the Booch Sand.
Exhibit 20— a geologic stick drawing showing the penetration depths of various wellbores in
the area of the proposed Cobalt SWD Well in the Deese, Viola, Upper Domick Hills, Atoka
shale, Atoka Lime and Morrow formations.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Entry of Appearances and Statements from Pro-se Protestants. The ALJ opened the
record and read into the record the names of all of the protestants who had sent in letters and
notices of protest related to Cobalt's Application. Rep. Tommy Hardin of District 49, Paula
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Ayers, Garry Ayers, Kevin Eppler, the Mayor if the City of Madill, Oklahoma, Don Melton, a
County Commissioner of Marshall County, Oklahoma, Josh Brecheen and Ronald Nunley were
all present in the Courtroom and reaffirmed their protest of the Application.
2. Testimony of Josh Brecheen. He said that the matter before the Commission was a
major concern to those living in the area with respect to the potential contamination of their
drinking water. He urged the Commission to consider the evidence carefully and deny the
Application if there was the slimmest possibility that the well could contaminate the drinking
water.
3. Testimony of Kevin Eppler. He identified himself as the Mayor of the City of Madill.
He said that the matter before the Commission was a major concern to those living in the area
with respect to the potential contamination of their drinking water. He specifically noted that he
and his constituents were concerned that the location of the proposed well was too close to Lake
Hauani which is a source of drinking water for the City of Madill and that the lake is spring-fed
and could be contaminated if the proposed well contaminates the groundwater and not just the
surface. He urged the Commission to consider the evidence carefully and deny the Application
if there was the slimmest possibility that the well could contaminate the drinking water. He said
that the lake literally saved all of Marshall County during the great thought that occurred over
the last several years because it didn't dry up due to the springs feeding the lake.
4. He acknowledged that the runoff water from a spill wouldn't flow uphill and go over the
dam at the lake in the event of a spill. He was concerned, however, that injecting 19,000 barrels
of saltwater per day at 2,000 psi could cause seismic activity and alter the location of the spring
and cause it to flow outside of the boundary of Lake Hauani. He said that he read the EPA
regulations presumably about underground injection and wondered why the saltwater isn't
injected back into the same formation it was taken from instead of into another formation.
He identified himself as a County Commissioner of
5. Testimony of Don Melton.
Marshall County, Oklahoma and noted that roads are one of his primary responsibilities as
Commissioner, and that he is one hundred percent against adding more truck traffic to the county
roads for a disposal well. He said that when oil field development began in the county around
four years ago, the roads went from pretty decent to nothing over the course of a year just
because of the truck traffic. He said the county roads are chip-and-seal roads that cost around
$45,000 per mile to repair, and that the County doesn't have the money to maintain the roads
damaged by such heavy truck traffic. He also said that the estimated 120 trucks per day traffic
load would not be safe because the county roads were not designed for such truck traffic. He said
that the people in his county are against locating the saltwater well at its proposed location
because it is located on a very dangerous road for trucks to travel. The road is narrow and there
are no shoulders on the road.
6. He said that he is a mineral owner and is concerned that no one will want to lease
minerals from an area where saltwater is being pumped back into the ground. He also is
concerned about the potential for the well to leak and contaminate the Madill City Lake. He
noted that there are a lot of chemicals put into oil wells that are not safe and that the produced
water that comes from the oil wells isn't treated before the water is injected into a disposal well.
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7. He identified Exhibit 6 as a topographical map of the six section area around the Cobalt
Well showing the property owners and houses within the area. He said that he had spoken to
some of these residents and that they were adamantly opposed to the Cobalt Well being located
near their homes and property and that he has seen 600 letters protesting the well. He said that he
heard all of the testimony about trucks already being in the area and about how the Cobalt Well
would probably not operate at capacity, but he knows that there could be 140 trucks per day
travelling down roads that cannot safely handle such traffic. He said that that the traffic and dust
would affect those who attend the Cowboy Church that appears to be only 120 yards from the
weilsite. He said that the Cobalt Well is going to destroy the roads, could contaminate the creeks
in the area and will not financially benefit Marshall County and will only benefit the owners who
live in Texas.
8. Testimony of Tommy Hardin. He identified himself as Representative Tommy Hardin
of District 49 which comprises Marshall, Love and part of Carter Counties. He noted that he has
extensively researched the rules and laws over the past several weeks, including the United
States Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the National
Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") and the laws and regulations of the State of Oklahoma. He
noted that the Oklahoma Corporation Commission was granted primacy by the Environmental
Protection Agency in 1981, and is required to enact regulations at least as stringent as the Federal
regulations. He opined that the NEPA prevents the Commission from granting Cobalt's permit.
9. He noted the following concerns about the proposed Application: access to the proposed
site is over a gravel or dirt road that isn't designed for heavy truck traffic; the road will become
unsafe to use and the highways leading to the road will become unsafe to use because they are
two-lane roads with no shoulders or turn lanes; dust will be created by the heavy truck traffic and
the dust will disrupt the lives of those living near the site, potentially contaminating nearby
drinking water sources; and the dust will also interfere with the use of a nearby place of worship.
10. He said that the purpose of the NEPA is: to declare a national policy which will
encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote
efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and the biosphere; and to
stimulate the health and welfare of man. He said that NEPA's policy is to assure safe, helpful,
productive, esthetically pleasing and culturally pleasing surroundings. He opined that NEPA thus
grants the Commission the authority to address all of the issues surrounding the permitting of a
disposal well, and that it is the responsibility of the State of Oklahoma to ensure that safe
drinking water is available for all of her citizens.
11. Testimony of Oscar Goode. Ms. Wheeler introduced Oscar Goode as her first witness.
Mr. Goode testified that he was employed as an oil and gas consultant for Cobalt and that he has
a BS degree in petroleum engineering and was a member of the Oklahoma City Geological
Society. He said that his credentials as an engineer and geologist have been accepted for the
purposes of expert testimony on previous occasions, and the ALJ retained the witness as an
expert without objection.
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12. He identified Exhibit I as a selection of documents related to this cause comprising: a
notice soliciting a protest against the Application to drill a salt water disposal well published in
the Madill Record on Thursday August 27, 2015; a topographical map showing the location of
the Cobalt Well and related landmarks; a Form 1015 for the Cobalt Well dated July 10, 2015; a
well plat centered around the proposed Cobalt Well showing the wells within a V2 mile and 1
mile radius; a weilbore schematic for the proposed Cobalt Well; a Surface Geology Map for the
proposed Cobalt Well; several type logs from the proposed Cobalt Well; a structure contour
map showing the base of the Antlers Sand; another wellbore schematic of the proposed Cobalt
Well; aerial map showing the dendritic drainage patterns from the Cobalt Well towards Hauani
Creek Lake; an aerial photograph of the Cobalt Well; a topographical map of the area around the
Cobalt Well; a wellbore schematic for the proposed Cobalt Well showing the corrosion
protection tubing; photographs of the proposed Cobalt Well unloading facility; and photographs
of the proposed Cobalt Well tank battery. The ALJ admitted the exhibit without objection.
13. Referring to the notice soliciting a protest against the Application to drill a salt water
disposal well, he said that the advertisement contained incorrect and misleading information
about disposal wells. He said that paragraph 1 of the article was misleading in that the Cobalt
Well will use 4.5 inch tubing to safely transfer the saltwater into the disposal zone and the tubing
will be monitored to detect leaks. He also said disposal wells in the area are now disposing
much less fluid since the downturn in the price of oil and he opined that Cobalt's well will
dispose significantly less than the 19,000 barrels of saltwater per day requested in the
Application. He can't state the actual disposal rate for the well until the well is in operation, but
opined that disposal wells typically do not dispose of their maximum permitted rate every day,
and that it was misleading for paragraph 2 of the article to imply that disposal well operated
continuously. He said that it was highly probable that the Cobalt Well would never operate at
more than 5,000 barrels per day.
14. He noted that paragraph 3 of the article mentioned seismic activity as a concern with
respect to the Cobalt Well. He said that seismic activity should not be induced by injection using
the proposed well because the well doesn't inject into the Arbuckle. He recalled that the
Commission shut down a well in Love County that injected 7 to 8 thousand barrels per day of
fluid into the Arbuckle because of a 3.4 magnitude earthquake in the vicinity of the well, He
noted, however, that Cobalt's proposed well injects into the Deese formation probably 15,000
feet above the Arbuckle and that the basement rock is found at around 30,000 feet in this area.
He opined that there was no way that saltwater would be able to travel that distance from the
Deese into the basement rock to induce seismicity.
15. He said that paragraph 4 of the article was also misleading in that the Cobalt Well will
not dispose of a constant 19,000 barrels per day and that there is already truck traffic in the area
to dispose of fluid into other disposal wells, a soil mud farm near Lebanon, Oklahoma on
Highway 99C, and a truck yard. He said that Cobalt's surface facility would be designed so that
trucks can easily access, unload and turn around on private property near the proposed well and
not on the public roads.
16. He said that paragraph 5 was misleading in that the mineral interests in the area are not
going to be affected by the Cobalt Well because the resource play in the area is from the
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Woodford formation, and not from the Deese. He said that paragraph 6 was misleading in that it
implied that the Commission rubber-stamps disposal well applications in favor of the applicant.
In fact the Commission has to follow 26 chapters comprising over 145 pages of rules that
regulate the drilling, completion and operation of commercial disposal wells and doesn't rubberstamp any application. He said that paragraph 7 was misleading in that it implied that the Cobalt
Well would be used to dispose of fluids from Texas and wouldn't benefit local operators from
Oklahoma. He noted that the owners of the Cobalt Well inherited the Oklahoma land on which
the well will be drilled from their father.
17. He referred to a topographical map showing the location of the Cobalt Well and related
landmarks and pointed out several features on the map including the location of the Cobalt Well,
the city water supply lake known as the Marvin (Poppe) Number 5 Reservoir or Hauarn Creek
Lake, the towns of Madill, Lebanon and Oakland, the Enville Commercial Disposal Well having
a limited 5,000 per day capacity near Highway 32, the Oil Field Disposal Service soil farm east
of the Enville Well on Highway 32 and the Bullet Energy Services produced water truck
transport yard owned by the Chickasaw Tribe. He noted that there really weren't any commercial
disposal wells currently operating in Marshall County because the Enville Well is limited in
capacity and the closest other commercial wells would be either the Alex Well (Tupelo Well) or
the Tn-City SWD Well (Wilson Well) operated by Cobalt more than 18 miles from the Cobalt
Well, and that these wells dispose into the Mississippi formation.
18. Referring to the third document in Exhibit 1, he identified the document as a Form 1015
Application to operate the Cobalt Well dated July 10, 2015. He said that he prepared the
Application and that one of his main concerns in doing so was to protect fresh and treatable
water sources. He consulted and reviewed treatable water logs, other logs, scout tickets, Herndon
maps, other Commission image documents and information from both the OGS and the
Oklahoma City Geological Survey ("OCGS") to prepare the Application. He reviewed a study of
the Antlers aquifer that is a recharge aquifer at the surface and present in parts of Marshall
County as well as Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality ("ODEQ") information and
Hydrological Atlas No. 3. He prepared stick drawings showing the depth ranges of the base of
the treatable water and the various disposal formations throughout a cross-sectional area that
included the site of the Cobalt Well.
19. From his study he determined that there are no municipal water wells within a mile of the
Cobalt Well and that there are no fresh-water, oil or gas zones within the zones of injection. He
said that the sources of the produced water to be injected into the Cobalt Well were from various
leases and formations receiving fluid from the Permian or Cameron formations, and that the
saltwater would be trucked in to the well. He said that the Cobalt Well would dispose into the
Deese formation between 2,020 and 7,800 feet and that the base of the treatable water based
upon offset logs was at 520 feet. He noted that 3,500 feet of shale and sand separated the base of
the treatable water from the disposal interval in the Deese, and that intervening rock consisted of
plastic sediments that do not lend themselves to being fractured such that fluid could flow into
the Antlers aquifer.
20. He determined the porosity of the disposal interval to be around 19% and the
permeability to be around 55 millidarcies with a formation pressure of around 1,250 psi. His
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design parameters of a disposal rate of 19,000 barrels per day and a surface pressure of 2,000 psi
are well within Commission guidelines. He noted that the hydrostatic pressure in this area is
around 0.4 psi per foot of depth. He said that the surface casing will be set at 600 feet, 80 feet
below the base of the treatable water and in compliance with Commission rules. The 7 inch
production pipe will be set at around 7,900 feet with the cement top to come up to 3,400 feet
which is more than the 2,050 feet required by the rules. He said that the 4.5 inch production
tubing will extend to around 3,990 feet which is 30 feet above the disposal interval. The packer
plug will also be installed in compliance with the rules. He said that he would run an electric log
and a cement bond log on the completed weilbore and conduct a MIT to insure its integrity and
submit the logs to the UIC before operating the well. He opined after his study and in accordance
with his design parameters for the Cobalt Well that the well will be constructed in compliance
with all of the rules of the Commission and that the Hauani Creek Lake water source would be
protected by the operation of the Cobalt Well. He said that there were no offset operators to the
Cobalt Well.
21. Referring to a well plat shown in Exhibit 1 that was centered around the proposed Cobalt
Well, he said that the plat depicted the wells within a '/2 mile and I mile radius of the Cobalt
Well. He said that that the Lucille Woody Well No. 1-6 located in Section 6, T6S, R5E should
be added to the plat because he used the well to find the base of the treatable water. He noted that
the Little Well is outside of the Y2-mile radius but is a problem well for shallow disposal in the
range of around 3,600 feet because there is no record of the well being properly plugged. It is a
1944 vintage well having no plugging report or completion report on file. Although the well is a
problem for shallow disposal, it isn't a problem with respect to the Cobalt Well because this
well's disposal interval is 400 feet or so deeper than the total depth of the Little Well. He noted
that the Deese can be up to 1,000 feet thick in the Ardmore Basin but that the Cobalt Well targets
around 400 to 500 feet of sand for its injection interval that is found in the deep part of the Deese
formation. He said that the shallower portion of the Deese is penetrated by the Little Well and
could be a problem if a disposal well injected fluid into the same shallow member of the Deese.
22. Referring to the welibore schematic for the Cobalt Well, he said that he prepared the
schematic and defmed the disposal interval using data from the Woody Well, the Jones Well and
the Mciver Well in Section 26. Referring to Surface Geology Map for the proposed Cobalt Well
shown on page 9 of Exhibit 1, he said that the plat was prepared by the Commission as an aid to
protect treatable water having less that 5,000 ppm chlorides and 10,000 ppm total dissolve solids.
He said that the plat doesn't show the Little Well. He disagreed with the map and stated that the
Little Well existed and that the well could be a problem well for shallow disposal.
23. He examined various type logs for area wells that penetrated through the disposal interval
including the Woody Well, the McKenzie Well and the Mciver Well in order to confirm the base
of the treatable water and the location of the top of the disposal interval. He confirmed that the
base of the treatable water formed a line from the Pennsylvania Hoxbar in the Antler aquifer that
ranged from about 442 feet to around 575 feet based upon the data from these wells and was
most accurately located at around 520 feet. He said that the top of the disposal injection zone was
3,500 feet below the base of the base of the treatable water. Referring to the structure contour
map taken from Oklahoma Geological Survey ("OGS") records showing the base of the Antlers
ffel
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Sand in Exhibit 1, he said the map supported his location of the base of the treatable water in the
proximity of the Cobalt Well.
24. Referring to another welibore schematic of the Cobalt Well shown in Exhibit 1, he said
that the schematic depicts the use of centralizers to center the production pipe in the welibore
while the cement is poured and re-circulated and shows that the surface casing would be
cemented properly to form a seal that would protect the base of the treatable water. He noted that
the base of the Antlers Sand was at around 575 in the Little Well and about 520 feet in the Cobalt
Well.
25. Her referred to an aerial map showing the dendritic drainage patterns from the Cobalt
Well towards Hauani Creek Lake, some aerial photographs of the Cobalt Well and a
topographical map of the area around the Cobalt Well. He noted from the maps and the
photographs dendritic flow patterns with vegetation flowing into Lake Hauani, then proceeding
south of the Cobalt Well and south of the dam and into the creek. He said that these flow patterns
mean that drainage in the S/2 of Section 2 flows into the lake and then downstream south of the
lake, and that any spill at the surface from the Cobalt Well would not flow into the lake but
would flow to the south and the southeast of the lake. He said that the water would have to flow
uphill to enter the lake. He also noted that the natural contours of the surface form a natural
terrace that would serve as a secondary containment area in the event of a spill from the Cobalt
Well. Any large spill greater than that from a tanker or a tank battery would eventually flow
south of the Madill water supply into Lake Texoma. He said that he acquired the Madill and
McMillin topographical maps from the OGS and the aerial photographs from Google Maps.
26. He noted that the design of the well provided primary, secondary and tertiary protection
of the surface water and groundwater. He said that primary protection from spills related to
injecting water into the Cobalt Well would be provided by the tubing and packer, and by
monitoring the tubing casing annulus pressure. Secondary protection would be provided by the
fresh water based packer fluid consisting of mud, corrosion inhibitors, biocides and oxygen
scavengers, and by the cement that seals the production casing from the disposal interval.
Tertiary protection would be provided by the surface casing and by equipping the packer with
seating nipples that can be used to shut in the well. He opined that the Cobalt Well will comply
or exceed design parameters found in the Commission rules and is a safe well for disposing of
fluids.
27. He referred to a wellbore schematic for the proposed Cobalt Well showing the corrosion
protection tubing, photographs of the proposed Cobalt Well unloading facility and photographs
of the Cobalt Well tank battery shown in Exhibit 1. He said that all of the equipment would be
installed according to the rules and that the tanks would be properly enclosed by a berm to
contain any spill that might occur. He said that all of the tanks and equipment for the Cobalt
Well would be located at the site of the well, and that the site would store fluid in tanks instead
of pits.
28. He said that the proposed site was not in an area of interest with respect to induced
seismicity and that the disposal interval was not in the Arbuckle formation. He also said that
22,000 feet of impermeable rock separated the basement rock from the base of the disposal
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interval. He opined that there was no way that fluid could flow from the disposal interval into the
basement rock. He said that there was faulting present in the Viola formation associated with the
Hunton or Rogeny, but that the Cobalt Welibore would not be anywhere near the Viola.
29. He said that the Little Well could be a problem well because there was no record of it
being plugged. He said that this well would be protected by being filled with heavy mud and gel,
and that it would take a lot of fluid pressure to dislodge the mud and cause fluid to flow from the
well to the surface. He doesn't recommend that the Cobalt Well dispose of fluid into the shallow
portion of the Deese because of the Little Well.
30. Upon cross examination by Mr. Gore, the witness said that the Tn-City Well disposal rate
had dropped from 19,000 to 7,000 barrels per day and the Alex Well disposal rate had dropped
from 17,000 to 3,000 barrels per day because of the decline in oil and gas production. He said
that the Tn-City Well was now permitted to dispose of 24,000 barrels per day after some
improvements were made and that the Alex Well was permitted to dispose of 50,000 barrels per
day but was constrained by equipment limitations. He acknowledged that there currently were at
least 47,000 barrels per day of capacity for disposal in the area served by these wells with 37,000
barrels per day of unused capacity.
31. Upon inquiry, he said that Cobalt's case was not premature in spite of the unused
capacity for disposal in the area because there are no commercial disposal wells in Marshall
County and because the operators near Madill would have a shorter trucking distance to the
Cobalt Well than the other wells in the area. He also stated that the Cobalt Well was needed
because it didn't dispose of fluid into the Arbuckle formation, and that disposal in the Arbuckle
formation could be proven to induce seismicity in the future and then the Alex and Tr-City
Wells might be constrained in their disposal rate by Commission action.
32. He said that the Little Well is around 0.74 miles from the Cobalt Well and that both
wells penetrate the Deese. He contended, however, that there is sufficient shaley Deese sand to
form a barrier between the base of the Little Wellbore and the injection interval of the Cobalt
Well to prevent fluid from travelling into the Little Wellbore from the Cobalt Well. He opined
that there wouldn't be any communication between the two wells.
33. Upon inquiry, he said that where only half of the sands in the Deese are sufficiently
porous and permeable to easily take on saltwater, the injection pressure would be increased such
that the injected saltwater may induce water already present in the formation to travel farther
horizontally in the formation but not travel up towards the bottom of the Little Well. He noted,
however, that Cobalt operated the Alex Well and never had to increase the pressure in the well to
force the water through the pores in the formation. He said that it only took around 1,000 psi at
17,000 barrels per day to drive the water through the injection zone where only half of the sands
were open, and that the well always operated below the permitted injection pressure.
34. He also acknowledged that the Union Cal Well located over 1.5 miles from the Cobalt
Well was a mud-plugged well that penetrated the entire Deese formation, and that if water from
the Cobalt Well could reach the Union Cal Well it could communicate with the wellbore. He
said that there was only a very low possibility of water travelling from the Cobalt Well injection
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zone to the Union Cal Well and that the resulting pressures at that distance away from the point
of injection would be too small to displace any of the mud in the weilbore.
35. When asked about faulting in the area, he said that the faulting was found in the Viola
formation and that faults may pass into the Hunton but would not travel upwards through the
Sylvan shale and Woodland shale formations because the shale is a barrier to fracturing. He
acknowledged that he had no objective evidence to prove that there were no faults above the
Hunton in the area. Upon inquiry, he said that any dust produced by truck traffic in the vicinity
of the Cobalt Well would have very little, if any, effect upon the water quality of Lake Hauani.
36. Upon re-direct examination, the witness said that the Deese, Des Moinesian and the
Atoka formation are all part of the Upper Domick Hills. He said that the Arlda Well located in
Section 11, T6N, R3E shows the top of the Deese to be around 3,139 feet and the top of the
Atoka at 8,949 feet, indicating that the Deese is around 5,810 feet thick in this well. He said that
the top of the Deese in the Cobalt Well would be at around 3,100 feet, the top of the disposal
interval would be at around 4,020 feet and the base of the disposal interval would be at 7,800
feet, resulting in a disposal interval between 4,020 feet and 7,800 feet. He noted that the Cobalt
Well would only perforate around 500 feet of the injection interval. He said that the distance
from the base of the disposal interval and the top of the Arbuckle is 14,400 feet and that the
distance from the base of the disposal interval to the top of the basement rock is about 21,000
feet.
37. Upon inquiry, he said that the annulus of the weilbore would be cemented from the
surface to the bottom of the surface casing at around 600 feet, then the annulus of the welibore
would be filled with heavy drilling mud from about 600 feet to the top of the Deese at around
4,020 feet. The annulus of the welibore would then be cemented from around 4,020 feet to the
top of the injection zone. He said that where the annulus was filled with mud, fluid flowing from
the rock could come into contact with the weilbore but the hydrostatic head of mud in the
annulus would keep the fluid from travelling up the annulus to the surface. He said that a hole in
the casing would be detected by the pressure gauges on the tubing casing annulus and on the
surface casing/production casing annulus.
38. Upon inquiry, he said that he was familiar with the Bryan fault system north of the area
and had put in a disposal well operated by Oil Field Disposal Services east of Marietta and
permitted a disposal well in the shallow Hoxbar Sand for Cobalt to the west of Madill. He said
that he didn't know of any other Deese disposal wells in the area except for this Cobalt Well. He
said that he didn't extensively map the Deese in the Ardmore Marietta Basin because there was
very little well control data or seismic data available for review. He said that the maximum
porosity of the Deese is 23% based upon a sonic log from the Mciver Well and that the Deese
consisted of around 10 to 20% sand and around 80% silt, shale and limestone.
39. Testimony of Dr. Kyle Murray. Ms. Wheeler presented Dr. Kyle Murray as her next
witness. He said the he is hydrogeologist, holding a BA degree in geography, a MS degree in
hydrogeology and a PhD degree in geological engineering. He worked as a hydrogeologist and
GIS specialist for the USGS, was an assistant professor at the University of Texas in San
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Antonio and currently works as a hydrogeologist for the OGS. His qualifications as an expert
were accepted without objection.
40. He identified Exhibit 2 as a copy of a presentation on seismicity that he prepared. He
identified Exhibit 3 as a cover sheet depicting a collaborative work between the Stanford Center
for Induced and Triggered Seismicity and the University of Oklahoma School of Geology and
Geophysics concerning the Fluid Production and Injection Budget for the Arbuckle. Referring
to page 2 of Exhibit 2, he said that it summarized his current research at the University of
Oklahoma and in collaboration with Stanford University to study the Arbuckle group in
Oklahoma with respect to underground injection of saltwater and induced seismicity. Referring
to page 2, he identified a map that he prepared showing the location of the Cobalt Well and other
significant geographic and geologic attributes such as Lake Murray. He said that page 3 of the
exhibit outlined the process that he went through to evaluate the site of the Cobalt Well for the
protection of the treatable water. He relied upon several sources for his evaluation, including:
Circular 81; the Hart and Davis Study; an OSG report; a master's thesis prepared by one of his
students who is studying the Antlers aquifer; a USGS report on a groundwater flow model of the
Antlers aquifer in southeastern Oklahoma; some data on groundwater permits from the
Oklahoma Water Resources Board ("OWRB"); and Bulletins 142 and 126 about the subsurface
geology of the region.
41. He said that page 4 of Exhibit 2 shows the location of the Antlers aquifer in southeastern
Oklahoma and the Cobalt Well on the confined area of the aquifer. He pointed out the location
of a municipal water well for the City of Colbert on the map and said that a water sample from
that well contained 10,193 mg/l total dissolved solids which is above the OWRB limit of 5,000
mg/I. He classified the water as brackish water. He said that the distance between the top of the
proposed injection interval in the Cobalt Well and the bottom of the Antlers aquifer is 3,500 feet.
He said that the quality of the water from the Antlers aquifer decreases in depth and when
moving south as the formation is down-dip in the area. The water in the aquifer becomes less
saline closer to the recharge zone.
42. He said that page 5 of Exhibit 2 shows a map created from Hart and Davis, Circular
81that shows that the percent sand in the aquifer decreases to the south in this area from around
88% to down to 36%. The higher the percent sand the better quality aquifer for a municipal and
domestic water wells. He said that there weren't any domestic public water wells in the area of
the Cobalt Well. The map also showed the importance of pore size with respect to the movement
of water through an aquifer or oil and gas reservoir. He said that fluid movement through rock is
a function of permeability, not porosity, and that permeability is a function of pore size. He said
that the aquifer in the vicinity of the Cobalt Well will have a combination of fine grain sand, silt
and clay and would be of lower permeability, and that water would move slowly through the
formation.
43. He said that page 6 of Exhibit 2 shows a map of the total dissolved salts in the aquifer in
milligrams per liter and that page 7 shows a map of the entire Antlers aquifer identifying the
groundwater wells permitted for domestic, commercial, industrial and irrigation by the OWRB.
The location of the Cobalt Well is shown on the map and the map also shows very few wells
near the Cobalt Well. He said that a record of the annual precipitation from 1895 through 2014 is
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shown on the map and that he used this information to plot a hydrograph to show that the aquifer
isn't being overdrawn or exploited, and is sustainable. He said that the Antlers aquifer includes
Hauani Lake but not Lake Murray, and that the surface area around the Cobalt Well is underlain
by a confined portion of the Antlers aquifer, and is not part of the recharge area. He said that
Hauarn Lake is underlain by the unconfined aquifer to the north and the confined aquifer towards
the south.
44. He said that water flows downhill so that the potentiometric surface is the level of the
water in the aquifer or the level to which it would rise if it is confined. He said that the northern
part of the aquifer is at a higher elevation than the southern part, so the water in the aquifer
would move from north to south. He said that a confined aquifer is confined by the geological
formation lying on top of it and below it, and that here these formations are undifferentiated
formations rich in clay and shale and thus not very permeable.
45. He said that page 10 of Exhibit 2 shows data obtained from a groundwater simulation
model showing that water released from the Cobalt Well into the Antlers aquifer, which is
confined at this location, would move south and southwest toward Lake Texoma and Texas. He
said that page 11 of Exhibit 2 also depicts groundwater gradients in the area that indicate that any
subsurface spill of fluid from the Cobalt Well would flow south of Lake Hauani. He said that
pages 12 and 13 of Exhibit 12 depict work done to measure the hydraulic conductivity in the area
and estimate the velocity of the groundwater, and that the hydraulic conductivity is a measure of
the slope of the water table and that the velocity of the groundwater in this area was around 41
feet per year. He did a slug test to determine the range of the hydraulic conductivity and that
pages 14 and 15 showed the dendritic drainage patterns in the area that also indicated the water
in the vicinity of the Cobalt Well would drain to the south. He noted that the City of Madill was
permitted to draw 2,500 acre-feet of water from Lake Hauani and 2,000 acre-feet of water from
Madill City Lake and Carter Lake, and that spills from the Cobalt Well would not impact any of
these water sources. The ALJ admitted Exhibit 2 without objection,
46. He said that he viewed the logs for the Little Well and the Woody Well and noted that the
Woody Well goes considerably deeper in the Deese formation than the Little Well, and that the
Little Well bottom hole is around 3,416 feet. He noted that the log for this well showed about 10
to 20% sand and the remainder being shale indicating that there is around 3,000 feet of shale in
the Deese. He noted that the bottom hole of the Little Well was 400 feet above the top of the
injection zone for the Cobalt Well. He said that it is highly unlikely that any fluid from the
injection zone would travel through low permeable shale that is much lower in permeability than
the sand in either the horizontal or vertical plane into the Little Welibore. He said that the fluid
injected into the Deese Sand would stay within the Deese and not move through the shale. He
pointed out that clay is used to form impermeable barriers for fluid movement in landfills and
that shale was compressed clay having even less permeability than clay.
47. He said that page 16 of Exhibit 2 showed summaries of his current work that integrate
hydrology, geology, seismology and petroleum engineering to understand induced seismicity and
saltwater disposal, and that page 17 of the exhibit depicts an Oklahoma map showing active
completed and producing oil and gas zones that also produce water. He said that there are more
than 450 formations that produce oil and gas in Oklahoma and that he focused upon 10 intervals
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in his report. He noted that the Permian is typically the shallowest although the Cretaceous is
shallower in Marshall County, and that the Antlers aquifer is found in the Permian formation in
Marshall County and the highest aquifer in central Oklahoma is the Garber formation. He said
the drinking water can be found in these shallower aquifers and that the Mississippian zone is the
predominant hydrocarbon producing zone in northern Oklahoma and the Des Moinesian age
rocks contain the Deese formation. These intervals are followed in depth by the Woodford Shale,
the Arbuckle and the basement rock. He said that the basement rock was the locus of earthquakes
and that he had never heard of an earthquake occurring in the Deese, most likely because it is
separated from the basement rock by thousands of feet of shale.
48. He said that page 18 of Exhibit 2 showed the geological provinces in the area focusing
on the Ardmore Basin and the Marietta Basin, and noted that both basins are separate and
distinct from each other. He said that the map also showed the location of earthquakes in the area
and the location of the Cobalt Well. He said that this map depicted earthquake activity over the
last five years, starting in January 2009. He said that the number and magnitude of earthquakes
have been increasing and that most earthquakes occur in the Cherokee Platform and the
Anadarko Shelf region in Oklahoma. He also depicted the faults on the map.
49. He said that page 19 of Exhibit 2 shows a database of saltwater disposal wells that
compiled the disposal volumes and the formation in which the fluids were injected. He said that
4,200 saltwater disposal wells disposed of fluid between 2009 and 2014 (excluding Osage
County). The database shows an increase in the number of high-volume disposal wells in Alfalfa
County, with some high-volume disposal wells in central Oklahoma and the Arkoma Basin. He
said that there are very few disposal wells in the Ardmore Basin and that the wells tend to be
lower-volume shallow saltwater disposal wells. The majority of the increase in injection volumes
over the last six years has been into the Arbuckle formation, and that the consensus of the
scientific and regulatory community is that the Arbuckle is the greatest concern for induced
seismicity.
50. He said that page 20 of Exhibit 2 focused on disposal of the saltwater into the Arbuckle
because the volumes of fluid disposed in the other formations hasn't changed much in the last six
years. The disposal volumes into the Arbuckle have increased from around 480 million barrels to
over a billion barrels over a six year time period. He noted that there were very few Arbuckle
wells in southern Oklahoma because of the geology of the area and the differences between the
geological provinces. The Arbuckle is much closer to the surface in northern Oklahoma and
central Oklahoma compared to other provinces such as the Anadarko Basin. The Arbuckle is
very deep in southern Oklahoma so that it would not be economical to drill a disposal well in the
Arbuckle if other shallower zones are available.
51. He said that page 21 of Exhibit 2 showed some of the factors that might induce
seismicity. The factors included: the presence of a fault; whether the fault is critically stressed,
and he noted that if the fault is mapped then it is likely stressed; whether the fault is a strike-slip
fault, because the literature reports that most triggered seismic events occur along strike-slip
faults; the extension of the fault into the basement rock; and the orientation of the fault,
optimally between 40 and 60 degrees from the north or 130 to 150 degrees from the north for
inducing seismicity. He said that strike-slip faults always occurred in the horizontal plane.
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52. He said that page 22 of Exhibit 2 illustrates that fluid injection could trigger a seismic
event if there is a pathway for the fluid to flow into the basement rock and that there is a much
higher probability for a pathway to exist from the Arbuckle to the basement rock compared to
other formations because the Arbuckle lies on top of the basement. He noted that higher injection
rates have a greater potential to cause an earthquake. He said that the highest injection rate for a
well in Oklahoma exceeded 20 million barrels per year and that the Cobalt Well has a much
lower rate. He noted that cumulative injection volumes increase the risk of induced seismicity,
and that the Arbuckle may be exhibiting the effects of cumulative injection. He also noted that
high injection pressures may also increase the risk of inducing seismic events. He referred to a
diagram from the USGS in the exhibit showing that the addition of fluid to reservoirs and the
removal of fluid could both stimulate a fault and trigger a seismic event.
53. Referring to page 23 of Exhibit 2, he showed a map of the Ardmore Basin identifying the
major faults in the area in reference to the Cobalt Well. He said that Madill is in the crossroads
between the intersection of normal faults and transtentional faults. He said that for the faults to
be active, there would have to be an extensional force perpendicular to the fault's orientation,
and that such an orientation isn't present in Oklahoma today. He noted that the fault data was
taken from Huffman Bulletin 142 which was focused on the Viola formation, indicating that
these faults are not visible on the surface. He acknowledged that some of the faults may extend
up to the base of the Dornick Hills in the Deese area, and that the faults near the Cobalt Well are
normal faults which he opined are unlikely to induce a seismic event even if they were connected
to a source of injected saltwater because they are typically sealing faults. He said that faults may
be present in an area but that doesn't necessarily mean that the faults are conduits for fluid flow
and in fact may be barriers to flow as is the case for faults that seal in pools of hydrocarbons in
traps.
54. He said that page 24 of Exhibit 2 depicted cross-section lines from wells closest to the
Cobalt Well that can be used to determine the thickness of the various formations in the area.
The Deese is the shallowest zone and the Oil Creek is the deepest zone that was mapped. The
Joins, the Arbuckle and the basement are all deeper than the Oil Creek. He said that the Viola
and the Deese were separated by 9,000 feet of rock and the Viola was thousands of feet above
the bedrock. The cross-sectional data also showed the presence of the Sycamore, Caney,
Woodford and Sylvan shale formations that would serve as permeability barriers between the
Deese and the basement rock.
55. He said that page 25 of Exhibit 2 showed seismic events that occurred in Marshall
County over the last six years. He said that the largest earthquake was a magnitude 3.5 located
north of the Bryant Fault system and that most of the earthquakes occurred north of the Bryant
Fault. He opined that these earthquakes were induced seismic events but were caused by nature
because there isn't much injection of fluids in the area. He said that all of the injection wells are
injecting less than 500,000 barrels per year into shallow zones and not into the Arbuckle
formation.
56. He said that page 26 of Exhibit 2 summarizes his evaluation of the effects of the Cobalt
Well upon the groundwater, surface water and its potential to induce seismicity. He said that
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saltwater disposed into the Deese from the Cobalt Well would be highly unlikely to migrate up
into the Antlers aquifer because the Deese is significantly below the Antlers and is hydraulically
separated from the Antlers by a lot of shale. He said if there was a spill at the welisite or
subsurface, the fluid would migrate very slowly to the south and the southwest away from
Hauani Lake. He said that the use of tanks to store saltwater instead of receiving pits would
reduce the risk of a surface discharge of any type.
57. He said that a surface discharge from the Cobalt Well is highly unlikely to affect surface
water sources for the City of Madill because to do so the water would have to flow uphill and
that the spill would most likely be contained by primary and secondary containment at the
wellsite. He said that there was little potential for the injection of fluid into the Cobalt Well to
induce seismicity because the injection zone is very far from the basement rock and is
hydraulically separated by several layers of shale or shale-rich formations. He found no evidence
of faulting connecting the Deese with the basement and any faults in the area are normal faults
and not strike-slip faults. He noted that the injection volumes proposed for the Cobalt Well are
minor compared to those rates seen elsewhere in the state for the Arbuckle formation. For all of
these reasons, he said that the Cobalt Well would be a safe disposal well if operated properly and
would not induce seismicity or harm the treatable water. The ALJ admitted Exhibits 2 and 3
without objection.
58. Upon cross examination, the witness said that he did a study of the Hauani Lake and
examined USGS records and did not find any evidence that the lake was a spring-fed lake. With
respect to his evaluation of the area, he said that part of his evaluation was based upon the work
of other people and part was based upon his own work and that of his students. He
acknowledged that the Cobalt Well was to be drilled within a fault zone and that it is possible
that the well could drill into a fault. He said that he hadn't studied the Deese to determine how it
was deposited back in geologic time and hasn't studied the structural nature of the Little Well
versus the Cobalt Well to determine if the Little Well is structurally higher than the Cobalt Well.
Upon inquiry, he said that the distance between the Goldfeder Well and the Neff-Rollins Well
was around 2,000 feet at the cross-section.
59. Testimony of Charles Lord. Ms. Wheeler presented Charles Lord as her next witness.
Mr. Lord said that he worked as a senior hydrologist for the Department of Pollution Abatement
of the Oil and Gas Division of the Commission. His qualifications as an expert were accepted
without objections. He said that he reviewed Cobalt's Application in this cause beyond what was
normally done out of concern for protecting the source of drinking water and did a review out to
five miles away from the Cobalt Well and found no possible conduit to the surface. He said that
he had read the advertisement placed in the newspaper that accused the Commission of rubber
stamping applications and he said that he has never rubber stamped an application and did not
know of any applications that have been rubber stamped. He said that the Commission doesn't
consider economic factors when approving or reviewing an application for a disposal well and
that the Commission is concerned with protecting correlative rights, protecting treatable water
and protecting the environment.
60. He said that he found nothing to object to in Cobalt's Application. The well as proposed
will protect the treatable water and any runoff from the weilsite will flow to a point south of
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Lake Hauani. He reviewed the Application for its potential to induce seismicity and determined
that the Cobalt Well didn't meet any of the conditions that might indicate that the well had the
potential to trigger a seismic event.
61. He identified Exhibits 4 and 5 as fault maps showing all of the known faults and their
orientation in the vicinity of the Cobalt Well. He said that the map doesn't indicate if the fault is
stressed or is going to fail. The map doesn't show any seismic events in 2015 in the vicinity of
the Cobalt Well. He noted that Exhibit 4 showed the Roman No. 2 Well and the Love County
Disposal No. 1 Well that were drilled at about the time in Love County. Seismic events started to
occur in the general area of the wells a week after the wells began to inject fluid. The operator
voluntarily shut in the wells in after being contacted by the UIC, and they haven't been in
operation since that time. He said that these wells were more than 18 miles away from the Cobalt
Well. He said that nothing about these wells cause concern for the Cobalt Well because the Love
County wells injected into the Arbuckle formation and the Cobalt Well injects into the Deese. He
said that Dr. Zoback, an expert in seismicity, believes that as long as an impermeable bather
separates the injection zone from the basement there won't be a problem with induced
seismicity. He said that the operator of the Cobalt Well will run an open-hole dual induction or
single induction gamma ray log of the welibore and the UIC will monitor the well.
62. He said that he has no concerns about protection of the treatable water with respect to the
Cobalt Well, and if the Application had not been protested, the UIC would have approved the
well administratively. Upon inquiry by the AU, he said that he wasn't concerned about the
injection pressure fracturing the Deese. He said that the wells in Love County were in a different
geological province than the Cobalt Well and that the earthquakes occurred at approximately 3 to
5 kilometers which is considerably deeper than the injection interval of the Cobalt Well.
63. Upon cross examination, he said that the Commission has jurisdiction over the prevention
of waste in the oil and gas industry. He said that economic decisions are decided by the operator,
not the Commission. He acknowledged that the UIC didn't evaluate the Little Well when it
reviewed Cobalt's Application. He said that he obtained geologic data from the OGS and didn't
review any 3-D seismic data himself. He said that the OGS regional stress data is optimal when
consistent with regional stress and not optimal when inconsistent with regional stress. He said
that he doesn't know if the fault in the vicinity of the Cobalt Well extends into the Deese. He
said that he uses a step-rate test to determine the fracture gradient for a well.
64. Upon inquiry by the AU, he said that the Little Well was more than V2 mile but less than
one mile away from the Cobalt Well and was outside the distance required by the rules for a
review of the impact of the disposal well. He reviewed the information presented in the hearing
about the Little Well and said that the UIC engineer that reviewed the well determined that the
well didn't penetrate the Deese but he might have meant that the Little Well didn't penetrate the
injection interval of the Cobalt Well. He said that a formation is a concept of geology but that an
interval is a legal concept. If a well is drilled and it doesn't fall within a permitted interval, the
Commission requires the operator to republish and give notice again. He said if a mud plugged
well was located within '/2 mile of the proposed injection well, and the mud plugged weilbore
extended into the proposed injection interval, then the UIC would require the applicant to either
re-plug the well or complete a radius of endangerment calculation that showed that at a certain
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injection rate and injection pressure and volume, the operation of the disposal would not raise
water up in the mud plugged well to within 100 feet or the base of treatable water.
65. Testimony of William Boyd. Mr. Gore introduced William Boyd as his first witness.
Mr. Boyd said that he was an expert in petroleum geology testifying on behalf of the City of
Madill and the citizens of Marshall County who are in opposition to the Application. He has an
MS degree in petroleum geology and has worked as a petroleum geologist for more than 30
years. He said that he was familiar with the Marietta and Ardmore Basins and the Deese
common source of supply and noted that the Marietta was his responsibility in the work that he
does for Continental Resources. He said that he has testified as an expert before the Commission
in many protested causes involving the Deese formation. The ALJ retained the witness as an
expert geologist without objection.
66. He said that the Marietta and Ardmore Basins are very similar parallel basins that are
fault-bounded, although the Marietta has a fault running through it. He said that the Deese lies on
top of an unconformity and the Hoxbar lies on top of another unconformity and within the basins
are extreme faulting and wrenching. He said that the Kiamichi Clay and the Goodland Limestone
lie underneath the Antlers followed by the Hoxbar which lies on top of the Deese.
67. He referred to a topographic map of the area that included the Cobalt Well and noted that
the map shows a tremendous drainage area that drains into Lake Texoma. He noted a little
tributary just south of the Cobalt Well that ultimately flows into Lake Texoma. He opined that
any spill form the Cobalt Well would go south into this tributary and could end up in the lake. He
noted that the tributary would drain south of Lake Hauani.
68. He identified Exhibit 7 as a topographical map of 72 sections surrounding and including
the area around the Cobalt Well showing the proximity to Hauani Creek. He referred to the Little
Well shown on the topographical map and noted that the well was drilled in 1944 on a surface
topographical high point. He said that if water were to purge from the Little Well located on top
of the high point, it could flow in any direction, including in the direction of Lake Hauani. He
said the Cobalt Well location wasn't a good location for a disposal well. He said that the well
was too close to several housing additions and even though the Commission doesn't have
jurisdiction over truck traffic and noise pollution, the Commissioners should take a look at the
adverse effects of the disposal well operation upon those people who live in the area.
69. He said that the disposal well site is not a good site because the operation of the well
would adversely affect those who attend a church in the area and because the roads may not
safely handle all of the truck traffic. He also noted that the site is within 2 1/4 miles of four lakes
that could be affected by the well if a spill occurred. The ALJ admitted Exhibit 7 without
objection.
70. He identified Exhibit 8 as a production map of 72 sections surrounding and including the
area around the Cobalt Well showing the cross sectional plot of the related type wells. He said
that the map showed no well control in the area. He said that the Unical Well in the SW/4 of
Section 6 didn't go deep enough to penetrate the Deese and that the other wells in Sections 22,
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32, 13, 30 and 6 also didn't penetrate the Deese. Well control can be found in only one well in
Section 26 which penetrated the Deese. The AU admitted the exhibit without objection.
71. He identified Exhibit 9 as a Base Deese structure map of 72 sections surrounding and
including the area around the Cobalt Well. He said that the entire Deese deepens from north to
south and that the base of the Deese is found at 6,063 feet in the Little Well, at 7,129 feet in a
well in Section 6 and at 6,700 feet in the Cobalt Well where all of the depths are subsea depths
and the surface elevation was around 1,000 feet. The ALJ admitted the exhibit without objection.
72. He identified Exhibit 10 as a description of the Little 1 Scout Card. There was a
disagreement on whether the exhibit referred to flat or fault and Mr. Good was called upon to
testify. He said that the exhibit had a scrivener's error and should have said flat dip from the
core because a lot of the formations in Marshall County have a steep dip in places. Mr. Boyd
then agreed with Mr. Good's interpretation of the language. The ALJ admitted the exhibit
without objection.
73. He identified Exhibit 11 as a description of the Lucille Woody 1 Scout Card, Exhibit 12
as a description of the Lucille Woody 1 Form 1002A and Exhibit 13 as a description of the
Lucille Woody 1 plugging record. The AU admitted the exhibits without objection
74. He identified Exhibit 14 as a type log taken from the Unical Woody Well located in
Section 6 and said that a microlog was run on the well that indicated that the porosity of the
Deese was around 12 to 14 percent. He said that the Deese had to be stimulated to produce
hydrocarbons, and that formations that had to be stimulated to produce would not accept water
naturally. He said that the net permeable sand in the Cobalt Well is 404 feet as shown on the
Woody Well log. He said that this was a generous value and that the well would have to be
pressured up to take water. He noted that Mr. Goode testified that only 50% of the formation
was permeable, indicating that the actual net permeability in the Cobalt Well would be around
202 feet.
75. He said that this permeable sand was not deposited in one thick 200 foot member in the
Deese but was distributed throughout 1,100 feet of Deese in thin lenses that will breakdown at
different rates. He disagreed with Mr. Goode that the average porosity in the Deese was 19%
because he determined the porosity from a sonic log which reads poorly through sandy shales
and gives an optimistic reading. The ALJ admitted Exhibit 14 without objection.
76. He identified Exhibit 15 as cross-sectional type logs for the McIver No. 1 Well located in
the N/2 of the N/2 of the SW/4 of Section 6, T6S, R4E; the Q Little 1 Well located in the NW/4
of the SW/4 of the SE/4 of Section 1, T6S, R4E; and the Lucille Woody No. I Well located in
the SW/4 of the SW/4 of Section 6, T6S, R4E. He said that the cross section depicts the sand
lenses in the Deese and noted that the Deese deposition is fluvial deltaic in nature having a
transgressive or regressive sand where all of the sands layers are in communication with each
other. He opined that these permeable sand lenses are also in communication with the surface
and that water injected into the Deese Sand could travel up through the lenses that are in
communication to the mud-plugged Little Well. He said that if there were actual separations of
the sand lenses by shales in the Deese, one would find oil and gas traps in the Deese but none
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have been found. He said that for the most part, all of the oil and gas in the Deese has gone
through the Deese sands up into the Criner Hills and the fluid flow has not been blocked by
impermeable shale layers. He pointed out that the Deese sands that are developed to the east are
not necessarily in the same positions as the Deese sands that are developed to the west. The sand
lenses alternate in their positions from east to west but away from the weilbores the sands are all
in communication with each other. Based upon his analysis, he opined that saltwater injected into
the Cobalt Well could end up in the Little Welibore and ultimately rise through the mud plug to
the surface. The ALJ admitted Exhibit 15 without objection.
77. He identified Exhibit 16 as a series of documents including: a production map from PD
20150082 for Section 5, T8N, RI 8E, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma; a photograph of the lease sign
for the M. Garis No. 1-8 Well in Section 8, T7N, R1 8E. Pittsburg County, Oklahoma; a
photograph of a spill of produced water from the M. Garis No. 1-8 Well; another photograph
from the same well; and a third photograph from the same well. He said that the exhibit depicted
an incident where the Garis Well purged saltwater all over the ground and noted that the Garis
Well disposed of fluid into a block of Deese sand that is similar to the Little Well. Ms. Wheeler
objected to the relevancy of this exhibit because the well is in a different geological province and
is around 80 miles to the east and 7 miles to the north of the Cobalt Well. When Mr. Gore
modified the exhibit to show that it applied to a well in Pittsburg County and not to the City of
Madill, the ALJ admitted Exhibit 16 for its probative value over the objection of Ms. Wheeler.
78. Referring to the extensive faulting in the area, he said that the Commission should not
allow a saltwater disposal well to be drilled where OGS publications show a fault to be present.
He said that the vast amount of production in the area is in Johnston, Carter and Love counties
and he opined that most of the water trucked to the Cobalt Well would come from these counties
and the majority of the water would come from XTO wells in these counties. He said that the
Deese would not take water naturally and had to be broken down by some sort of treatment that
could include fracturing. He recommended that the Commission deny Cobalt's Application
based upon his study of the area. Upon inquiry of the AU, he admitted that the primary problem
with the Cobalt Well was the risk of purging water from the Little Well.
79. Upon cross examination by Ms. Wheeler, he said that the ALJ should follow the rules of
the Commission when making a recommendation about a disposal well application. He said that
he didn't investigate whether there were springs in Hauani Lake, and based his structure map for
72 sections upon data from several wells. He said that he couldn't illustrate faults because of the
lack of well control and because he didn't have any 3-D seismic data to review that would have
enabled him to identify the faults in the area. He said that there were faults in the Deese
formation in the area of the Cobalt Well but he couldn't provide the Commission with reference
to support his opinion. He agreed with Dr. Murray that there is a lot of shale in the Deese. He
said that the shale is located between the sand lenses, but the shale layers stack on top of each
other and are not an impermeable barrier. He said that with sufficient pressure, the injected
water can snake upwards through passages of sand existing within the shale layers and ultimately
travel to the Little Well.
80. Upon cross examination by Ms. Case, he said that the statement about rubber stamping
applications didn't refer to campaign contributions to the Commissioners. He said that he
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believes that the citizens of Marshall County consider it rubber stamping when the Commission
only considers if the weilbore is correctly constructed when it reviews an application for a
disposal well and does not consider the impact of a disposal well upon the lives of the people
who live near the well.
81. Statement by Representative Tommy Hardin. He identified himself as Representative
Tommy Hardin of the 49th District of Oklahoma and said that this has been his third or fourth
disposal hearing that he has attended and each time he has heard citizens express their concern
for water and other public safety issues. He has heard over and over how these wells and sites
exceed standards for protecting groundwater. He believes that the Commission has done a very
good job protecting groundwater but that other safety concerns have fallen upon deaf ears, and
that this is why people feel like things are rubber stamped.
82. He said that in his opening statement in this hearing he expressed concerns about truck
traffic and dust, and the cost to upgrade the roads, but little testimony occurred in the hearing
that addressed his concerns. He noted that the EPA website reports that dust can be a health
hazard, and that children and the elderly are most vulnerable. He said that the Clean Air Act
identifies six common air pollutants that are found all over the United States that can injure
health, harm the environment and cause property damage. He said that he visited with the ALJs
after each hearing and they have told him that his concerns are valid concerns but that the rules
of the Commission do not allow the Commission to address them. He disagrees.
83. He believes that the Commission has the sole responsibility to address these safety issues
now that the legislature passed Senate Bill 809 taking away the rights of cities and counties to
address these concerns. That responsibility is given under NEPA and under Title 17, Section
552, which states:
"Except as otherwise provided by this section, the Corporation Commission is
hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction, power and authority with reference to
injection wells known as Class II wells under the Federal Underground Injection
Control Program, and the handling, transportation, storage and disposition of
saltwater."
84. Rebuttal Testimony of Oscar Goode. Ms. Wheeler introduced Oscar Goode as her first
rebuttal witness. Mr. Goode was retained as an expert without objection. Referring to Exhibit 8,
a production map of 72 sections, he said that the well in Section 32, T5S, R5E that was identified
as an Arbuckle production well (the Russell and Wham Development RG Coatsworth No. 2
Well) was not a well that produced from the ubiquitous Arbuckle formation but did produce
from the Arbuckle Sand member of the Antlers formation that is productive in parts of Marshall
County.
85. Referring to Mr. Boyd's testimony that the issues related to Risenhoover saltwater
disposal well in Pittsburg County appear to be identical as to that found in Marshall County, he
said that the Risenhoover Well was in a different geological province some 80 miles away from
Marshall County. He said that he was familiar with activity in this area found an operator's
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guide to filling out UIC applications in the case file to re-permit the Risenhoover to penetrate the
deeper Hartshorne formation. He then identified Exhibit 17 as a copy of the UIC 1997 Operator's
guide to filing UIC applications and Reports, and 0CC rules of Practice 165: 5-7-27 (b)(1). He
said that the guide defines a problem well as a well or dry hole that has been drilled into or
through the disposal or injection zone requested in the Application that is not isolated by cement,
and where the surface casing or top cement plug is not set deep enough to protect the base of the
treatable water. He said that a problem well has to penetrate the disposal interval to be a
problem well. He said that the Little Well is not a problem well even if it were within V2 mile of
the Cobalt Well because it is not going to penetrate the disposal interval of the Cobalt Well
which will be around 400 feet below the base of the Little Well. The exhibit was admitted by the
ALJ without objection.
86. He said that the proposed situation between the Little Well and the Cobalt Well in
Marshall County is absolutely not the same as the situation that occurred with the Risenhoover,
the Mackey and the Quinton disposal wells in Pittsburg Counties. He said that in the
Risenhoover area that all of the breakout wells completely penetrated through the disposal
interval in the Booch sand and that most of them are Hartshorne completions where the disposal
intervals were in direct communication with the old weilbores and that one of the break-out wells
had no casing. He said that all of the wells were problem wells.
87. He identified Exhibit 18 as a Schematic Drawing of the Geological Limitations of a Sand
Pinchout from a Welibore that was admitted in a 2006 case involving the Risenhoover Well. He
noted that the wells were ultimately shut in. He also identified Exhibit 19 as a well location plat
identifying purge wells drilled through the Booch Sand. The exhibits were admitted by the AU.
88. Upon cross examination, the witness said that that the Antlers aquifer could contain
hydrocarbons. He said that the Antlers is part of the Cretaceous formation and the Arbuckle
Sands is also part of the Cretaceous. It is a local name for producing sands within the Cretaceous.
Referring to Exhibit 19, he said that there was considerable well control in that area but limited
well control near the Cobalt Well. He agreed with the statements in Exhibit 18 that one must
have control points and well logs to properly demonstrate that an injection zone is not present in
a problem well. He opined that he had enough control points from well logs to demonstrate that
the injection zone of the Cobalt Well is not involved with the Little Well.
89. He noted that there were faults in the area of the Cobalt Well, and that Bulletin 142
showed that the Bryan Horst is well delineated with faults and fault zones. He said that the Viola
has some faulting with some regional maps tying these faults with the Overbrook and Criner
fault systems. He said that the Cobalt Well is located on top of the Viola or basement type faults
some 14,000 feet below the base of the Cobalt Well to the top of the Woodford. He doesn't know
which formations that the faults actually extend into but opined that they extend upwards as far
as the Woodford formation.
90. He identified Exhibit 20 as a geologic stick drawing showing the penetration depths of
various weilbores in the area of the proposed Cobalt Well in the Deese, Viola, Upper Dornick
Hills, Atoka Shale, Atoka Lime and Morrow formations. He said that the Jones Macgyver Well
is shown on the left-hand side, followed by the McKenzie Well which he projected perpendicular
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to a line that goes through the Woody, Little and the Cobalt wells. The drawing shows the
various correlation points and uses the tops picked by Mr. Boyd in the Deese. He depicted the
Upper Dornick Hills, the Atoka Shale, the Atoka Lime, the Morrow, Springer, Caney,
Mississippi, Sycamore, some Hunton and the Woodford Shale. He saw no information to show
any faulting where he had well control, and said that the information supported his pick for the
location of the disposal interval in the Cobalt Well. He was comfortable with his placement of
the Cobalt Well and related disposal interval. He restated his opinion that the Little Well was not
a problem well and does not penetrate the disposal interval, and noted that the wells that purged
in Pittsburg County penetrated the disposal interval and underwent 30 years of operation before
the purge occurred. The ALJ admitted Exhibit 20 without objection.
91. Statement by Tracy Case. She said that at the conclusion of the testimony on October
23', Representative Hardin expressed his concerns regarding public safety issues surrounding
disposal wells specifically related to truck traffic and dust. His assertion was that the
Commission is acting on behalf of the EPA and it must operate under EPA rules and guidelines
and that the recently passed Senate Bill 809 takes away the rights or cities and counties to
address safety concerns and gives that responsibility to the Commission.
92. On behalf of the UTC and the General Counsel's office, she extended her appreciation to
Representative Hardin for his willingness to attend these disposal well hearings. She said that her
statements were made on behalf or her client, the UIC, and that pursuant to OAC 165: 5-13-3 (j)
statements made during hearings by any person, political subdivision or civic organization are
only to be considered as argument and not as proof of any fact or received as evidence. She
noted that this specific Application complied with all current Commission rules and met all the
requirements for administrative approval of a disposal well application, and that factors such as
truck traffic, dust, noise, or other public safety issues are not currently part of UIC's application
for disposal well process review.
93. She noted that the rules and laws are evolving and changing according to the issues at
hand, and that the EPA has delegated authority to the Commission to prevent any person from
engaging in activities which endanger or cause damage to the public health or the environment,
and notes that the Commission can issue orders necessary to protect property, human health and
safety and the environment.
94. With respect to Senate Bill 809, she believed that it confers split jurisdiction between the
Commission and the municipality, county, or political subdivision and that they retain authority
to enact ordinances, rules and regulations concerning road use, traffic, noise and odors incidental
to oil and gas operations provided they are not inconsistent with anything in Title 52 or other
Commission rules and that all other regulations of oil and gas operations shall be the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Commission. Whether the potential for truck traffic, noise, dust or other
things along that line are within the Commission's jurisdiction to regulate by either the EPA's
delegation of authority or Senate Bill 809 or statute or rule or court decision or whether it would
be a matter for a District Court action would be a question to be decided based on the evidence
presented to the Commission or to the AU.
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95. Response by Representative Tommy Hardin. Mr. Hardin said that he attended a study
on seismic activity last month in which Commissioner Murphy was called upon, and she made a
presentation that lead him to believe that as far as she is concerned, she thinks some of these
issues should be addressed. He said that one of the slides that she presented indicated that the
Commission's jurisdiction over salt water wells doesn't end with the UIC program. He said that
general jurisdiction of the Commission is just not limited to the protection of waters and he urges
the court to take that into consideration and look at the public safety issues that have been
brought up in this case.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
96. When presented with any application or plan that has the potential to pollute the
groundwater, the Commission has a responsibility to protect human health and the environment.
For this purpose the Commission has jurisdiction under 17 0. S. § 52 (A)(i) over the handling and
disposition of produced water and other deleterious substances associated with oil and gas
extraction and transportation activities. The Commission is also obligated to prevent pollution
and protect human health and the environment under various statutes and rules including 52 O.S.
Section 139 and O.A.C. 165: 10-7-2. The Commission has promulgated rules for the location,
installation and operation of injection wells that are intended to protect human health and the
67 The applicants are also obligated to prevent pollution. 8
environment.5
97. Here Cobalt presented substantial evidence that it's proposed salt water disposal well
complies with the Commission's rules to protect the waters of the state. Cobalt's Application
See 17 O.S. Section 52(A)(i) which states that the Commission shall have jurisdiction over: "the handling,
transportation, storage and disposition of saltwater, mineral brines, waste oil and other deleterious substances
produced from or obtained or used in connection with the drilling, development, producing and operating of oil and
gas wells."
6
See 52 O.S. Section 139 which states that "The Corporation Commission is vested with exclusive jurisdiction,
power and authority, and it shall be its duty, to make and enforce such rules and orders governing and regulating the
handling, storage and disposition of saltwater, mineral brines, waste oil and other deleterious substances produced
from or obtained or used in connection with the drilling, development, producing, and operating of oil and gas wells
and brine wells within this state as are reasonable and necessary for the purpose of preventing the pollution of the
surface and subsurface waters in the state, and to otherwise carry out the purpose of this act."
See O.A.C. 165: 10-7-2(cX8)(9) and (10) which state that the Commission has jurisdiction over "(8) The
handling, transportation, storage and disposition of saltwater, drilling fluids, mineral brines, waste oil and other
deleterious substances produced from or obtained or used in connection with the drilling, development, production,
and operation of oil and gas wells at any facility or activity specifically subject to Commission jurisdiction or other
oil and gas extraction facilities and activities. (9) Spills of deleterious substances associated with facilities and
activities specified in O.A.C. 165:10-7-4(c)(8) or otherwise associated with oil and gas extraction and transportation
activities. (10) Groundwater protection for activities subject to the jurisdictional areas of environmental
responsibility of the Commission."
See O.A.C. 165:10-7-5(a) which states that "Prohibition of pollution - pollution is prohibited. All operators,
contractors, drillers, service companies, pit operators, transporters, pipeline companies, or other persons shall at all
tunes conduct their operations in a manner that will not cause pollution."
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was reviewed by the UIC and would have been approved administratively but for the protest.
During the review of the Application, the Little Well located in the NW/4 of the SW/4 of the
SE/4 of Section 1, T6S, R4E in Marshall County, Oklahoma was identified as a potential
problem well. The well was an old well commenced in 1944 that penetrated the Deese formation
and was plugged with drilling mud instead of cement.
98. The protestants' expert noted that the Little Well was more than V2 mile from the location
of the Cobalt Well, but argued that the well penetrated the Deese Sand and that the welibore was
mud plugged and in potential communication with the Deese Sand present in the injection
interval of the Cobalt Well. He said that the Little Well was plugged with drilling mud instead of
cement and could allow salt water from Cobalt's disposal well to enter into the treatable water
zones in the area, thus causing pollution and contaminating the Antlers aquifer. He argued that
the injection rate of 19,000 barrels per day could pressurize the Deese and force fluid up the
wellbore of the improperly plugged and cemented Little Well even though the well was outside
the one-half mile radius of the Cobalt Well.
99. He acknowledged that the rules of the Commission don't require Cobalt to identify or
consider the effects of its disposal well operation upon wells located outside of the one-half mile
radius, but contended that the UIC should be concerned about all problem wells within the one
mile radius of a proposed salt water disposal well, and that the issues related to the Little Well
should be addressed by the UIC and Cobalt before the Cobalt Well begins to inject fluid into the
Deese.
100. Cobalt's experts argued that the injection zone of the Cobalt Well was separated from the
base of the Little Well by around 400 feet of Deese rock comprising 20% sand and around 80%
clay and shale, and that the shale in the Deese formed an essentially impermeable barrier that
would prevent any saltwater injected into the Cobalt Well to travel out and up to the wellbore of
the Little Well. Dr. Murray said that saltwater disposed into the Deese from the Cobalt Well
would be highly unlikely to migrate up into the Antlers aquifer because the Deese is significantly
below the Antlers and is hydraulically separated from the Antlers by a lot of shale. He said if
there was a spill at the wellsite or subsurface, the fluid would migrate very slowly to the south
and the southwest away from Hauani Lake. He said that the use of tanks to store saltwater
instead of receiving pits would reduce the risk of a surface discharge of any type.
101. The protestants' expert argued that the area around the Cobalt Well is highly fractured
and faulted, and that the faults could extend from the basement into the Deese formation and
serve as a conduit to allow water to flow from the Deese into the basement rock. He implied that
the water from the well could induce a seismic event if it reached the faults or the basement rock.
102. Cobalt's experts responded that the Commission and majority of the scientific
community accept that most of the earthquakes in Oklahoma originate in the basement rock
which is the formation lying underneath the Arbuckle formation composed of granitic and
igneous rock. The experts contended that any activity causing earthquakes is initiated many
thousands of feet below the top of the granite rock. Dr. Murray testified that the base of the
injection zone in the Cobalt Well in the Deese formation would lie around 14,000 feet above the
Arbuckle formation and about 22,000 feet above the granitic basement rock.
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103. He said that there would be no way that pressure in the Deese would influence the
basement 22,000 feet away and for injection of water in the Deese to influence the granite. He
argued that there was no hydrological connection between the injection zones proposed for the
Cobalt Well and the formations where the earthquakes occur.
104. He acknowledged that some faults may extend up to the base of the Domick Hills in the
Deese area from the Viola formation, but noted that such faults near the Cobalt Well would be
normal faults which he opined are unlikely to induce a seismic event even if they were connected
to a source of injected saltwater because they are typically sealing faults. He said that faults may
be present in an area but that doesn't necessarily mean that the faults are conduits for fluid flow
and in fact may be barriers to flow as is the case for faults that seal in pools of hydrocarbons in
traps
105. The UIC reviewed the status of the Cobalt Well with respect to the risk of induced
seismicity if the well was allowed to inject 19,000 barrels of fluid per day into the Deese
formation and concluded that the well wasn't in a yellow or red zone or in an area of interest, and
thus it's operation posed a minimal risk with respect to induced seismicity. Mr. Lord reviewed
the Application for its potential to induce seismicity and determined that the Cobalt Well didn't
meet any of the conditions that might indicate that the well had the potential to trigger a seismic
event.
106. The protestants argued that the proposed disposal would adversely affect their quality of
life and reduce the value of their property because of excessive truck traffic to and from the
facility and because the truck traffic would create dust that could affect their health. While these
are of course legitimate concerns, such concerns are outside the jurisdiction of the Commission
at this time.
107. The ALJ finds that the evidence and testimony presented in this cause support the
applicant's position that the Cobalt Well poses a minimal risk of inducing a seismic event when
operated according to the plan presented herein. With respect to the pollution of the groundwater
and surface water, the Cobalt Well complies with the Commission's rules to protect the waters of
the state. The remaining issue is whether the operation of the Cobalt Well might sufficiently
pressurize the Deese to induce saltwater in the vicinity of the Little Well located around 400 feet
or so above and around 0.75 miles away in the horizontal plane from the Cobalt Well to purge to
the surface or penetrate the Antlers aquifer. For this to happen, the pressure at the wellbore of the
Little Well must be sufficient to overcome the mud-plug in the Little Well and the hydrostatic
pressure in the wellbore to force water to the surface or into the aquifer.
108. The evidence presented by Cobalt's experts show that such an event would be highly
unlikely while the testimony presented by the protestant's expert suggest that such an event
might possibly occur. The Little Well was acknowledged by the Commission's staff to be a
problem well, although its status as a problem well is disputed by the applicant. Mr. Lord
testified that if such a mud-plugged well was located within '/2 mile of the proposed injection
well, and the mud-plugged weilbore extended into the proposed injection interval, then the UIC
would require the applicant to either re-plug the well or complete a radius of endangerment
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calculation that showed that at a certain injection rate and injection pressure and volume, the
operation of the disposal would not raise water up in the mud plugged well to within 100 feet of
the base of treatable water. The ALJ notes that it is also a practice of the UIC to be concerned
about all problem wells within the one mile radius of a proposed salt water disposal well even
though the Rules of the Commission don't require an evaluation be made outside of the V2 mile
radius.
109. The crux of the issue with respect to an analysis of the risk of a saltwater purge rests upon
whether the shaley and clay portions of the Deese formation located above the injection interval
of the Cobalt Well form an impenetrable barrier precluding fluid to flow vertically into the Little
Weilbore. The Deese is classified by the Commission as a common source of supply which in
turn is defined by the Commission's statutes and rules as strata of earth separated from and not
connected with other strata of earth, implying that the rock within a common source of supply
may be interconnected throughout the formation. 9 10
110. The protestant's geologic expert alleged that the Deese is interconnected both vertically
and horizontally through sandy channels lying within the impermeable shale layers. He said that
if there were actual separations of the sand lenses by shales in the Deese, one would find oil and
gas traps in the Deese but none have been found. He said that for the most part, all of the oil and
gas in the Deese has gone through the Deese sands up into the Cnner Hills and the fluid flow has
not been blocked by impermeable shale layers.
111. He implied that if the Deese was separated by shale into impermeable horizontal layers,
then the individual layers of the Deese should be classified as separate and distinct common
sources of supply. The ALJ notes, however, that it is undisputed that the thousand-foot thick
Deese formation in this area is classified as one common source of supply. Taking into account
that geology is acknowledged by all to be an inexact science, the ALJ finds that a prudent
operator of the Cobalt disposal well should take action to mitigate the risk of pollution of the
surface and groundwater from the Little Well.
See OAC 165: 10-1-2. which states that a "Common source of supply" or "pool" means "that area which is
underlaid or which, from geological or other scientific data, or from drilling operations, or other evidence, appears to
be underlaid by a common accumulation of oil and/or gas; provided that, if any such area is underlaid, or appears
from geological or other scientific data or from drilling operations, or other evidence, to be underlaid by more than
one common accumulation of oil or gas or both, separated from each other by strata of earth and not connected with
each other, then such area shall, as to each said common accumulation of oil or gas or both, shall be deemed a
separate common source of supply." [52. O.S.A. §86.1(c)].
See 52 OS Section 87.1(c) which states that the term "common source of supply" shall comprise and include that
area which is underlaid or which, from geological or other scientific data, or from drilling operations, or other
evidence, appears to be underlaid, by a common accumulation of oil or gas or both; provided, that, if any such area
is underlaid, or appears from geological or other scientific data, or from drilling operations, or other evidence, to be
underlaid by more than one common accumulation of oil or gas or both, separated from each other by a strata of
earth and not connected with each other, then such area, as to each said common accumulation of oil or gas or both,
shall be deemed a separate common source of supply;
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112. After taking into consideration all of the facts, circumstances, evidence and testimony
presented in the cause, it is the recommendation of the ALJ that Cobalt's Application be granted
under an Interim Order subject to the following conditions:
a. Prior to commencement of operations, Cobalt shall complete a radius of endangerment
calculation to show that operation of the Cobalt Well would not raise water up in the
Little Well located in the NW/4 of the SW/4 of the SE/4 of Section 1, T6S, R4E in
Marshall County to within 100 feet of the base of treatable water and present the study to
the UIC for review upon which the UIC will either approve or revise the operating
parameters of the Application;
b. If the original Application is not approved by the UIC based upon the results of the radius
of endangerment calculation, Cobalt shall either agree to operate the Cobalt Well at the
revised flowrates and pressures required by the UIC, or properly plug the Little Well in
compliance with the requirements of the UIC;
c. Prior to commencement of commercial operations and after the well is drilled, Cobalt
shall take an initial bottomhole pressure measurement from the Cobalt Well and run a
MIT test on the well;
d. Commence commercial operations at either the injection rate and surface pressure set
forth in the approved Application or at the revised injection rate and pressures required
byUIC;
e. Complete an annual bottom-hole pressure measurement for the Cobalt Well to identify
potential problems;
f.
Shut down the Cobalt Well if a seismic event of a magnitude 3.0 or greater occurs within
a 10 mile radius of the well after commencement of operations.
113. These conditions are recommended to provide a cautious and prudent path towards the
operation of the disposal well and towards the protection of the surface waters and groundwater.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 30 th day of March, 2016.
DAVID LEAVIT
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE
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PD 201500082— COBALT DISPOSAL, LLC
DL:ac
xc:
Cheri Wheeler, Esq.
Richard J. Gore, Esq.
Patricia Case, Assistant General Counsel
Robert Moore, Marshall County Water Corp.
Gary Hucks, Marshall County Water Corp.
Tommy C. Hardin, Representative, Dist. 49
Paula Ayers
Gary Ayres
Kevin Eppler, Mayor, City of Madill
Don Melton, County Commissioner, Dist. #1, of Marshall County
Josh Brecheen
Ronald Nunley, City Manager of Madill, Oklahoma.
Wesley Eldridge
Megan Louis
Terry Eldridge
Sam Goodwin
Kelly Goff, Madill Public Schools
Magdalena DeLaPaz, Madill Public Schools
Kasie Pense, Madill Public Schools
Tiffany Robinson, Madill Public Schools
Samantha Awalt, Madill Public Schools
Michael Decker, OAP Director
Oil Law Records
PD 201500082— COBALT DISPOSAL, LLC
EXHIBIT "A"
Cause PD 201500082 - Report of the AU
The following names are respondents shown to have filed a Notice of Protest form in above
cause:
NOTE: Frances Savage and Basil Savage Jr., Madill, OK, filed their protests on 11-24-15, after
the ALJ took the case under advisement on November 12, 2015.
Lorene Ababon, Kingston, OK; Madelyn Jø Adams and Wanda Adams, Madill, OK; Carrie
Adkins, Ringston, OK; Norma Aguirre, Susie Aguirre, Jimmy Aker, Rosa Aldaba, Tyler Allen,
Maria C. Alvarez, Keith Anderson and Tiffany Anderson, Madill, OK; Leo E. Arnold, Kingston,
OK; Jerry Arterberry, Madill, OK; Betty Avent, Kingston, OK; Marivel Avila, Ardmore, OK;
David Awalt, William Ayers, Linda Ayers, David R. Ayres, Jamie Ayres, Justin Ayres, Paula L.
Ayres, Gary L. Ayres, Robert E. Ayres, Michael Bagley, Fidel Barbosa, Joe Barentine, Patricia J.
Barentine and Gary Barker, Madill, OK; Kasey Barker, Kingston, OK; Shannon G. Barker and
Terry D. Bartee, Madill, OK; Raymond T. Barton, Brandon Bates and Shalon M. Bates,
Kingston, OK; 011ie L. Beard, III and Mary Lou Beard, Madill, OK; Clarmne Bearden and James
A. Beaver, Kingston, OK; Mary Alice Beck, Jessica Beckner, Jackson A. Bell, Pat Bell and
Obert 0. Bennett, Madill, OK; Tony Biggers and R.D. Bland, Kingston, OK; Delma Blundell
and Diane Kathryn Attaway Bolen, Madill, OK; Jamie Bolton, Kingston, OK; Deborah C.
Bookout, Paul Bookout, Jeff Bowermaster, Rhonda Bowermaster, Rudy Bowman, Chris W.
Bradshaw, Linda Bradshaw and James L. Branch, Madill, OK; John Lynn Bratcher, Kingston,
OK; Billy R. Brewer, Madill, OK; Roy M. Bridgeman, Lebanon, OK; George Bridgman, Walter
E. Bridgman, Beau Brown, Rebecca J. Brown, Harold D. Brown Jr., Billy E. Buck, Linda Gayle
Buck, Cecil Buck and Floyce Buck, Madill, OK; Janiece Burleson, Marous Burleson, Diana
Bums, Kenny Butler, Sherry L. Butler and Paula J. Butterfield, Kingston, OK; Rodney Caldwell,
Lisa Caldwell, Brooke Campbell, Valeria Cardenas, Brenda Carnes, Onita Carnes, Jordan Carnes
and Logan Carnes, Madill, OK; Brittni Carter, Mannsville, OK; Nancy A. Carter, Tony Chaney,
Vicki Chaney, Candy Chapman, James K. Chapman, Monica R. Chapman, Weston Chapman,
Zach Chapman and Lauren Chapman, Madill, OK; Elizabeth Chester, Jacklyn Chester, Tyler
Chester and Sandra K. Childers, Kingston, OK; Kelley Childress, Madill, OK; Clara Chill,
Kingston, OK; Bonnie Christie, Frank Christie, Shadow Christie and Eugene R. Christopher,
Madill, OK; Lou Clark and Shirley A. Clark, Kingston, OK; Juanita Clement, Jace P. Cobb,
Jerry Coleman, Rickey Coleman, Alden Combs, Lisa J0 Combs, Guadalupe Medina Contreras,
Casey Cook and Misty Cook, Madill, OK; Nancy Cook and Bill Corbett, Kingston, OK; Leanne
Corbin, Tishomingo, OK; Stephen Cordell, Dale Coulson, Jodie Coulson and Tony Crowly,
Madill, OK; Johnny Cox, Kingston, OK; Linda J. Cox, Madill, OK; Charles J. Craven, Kingston,
OK; Stephanie R. Crowley, Madill, OK; Jimmy Cryer, Kingston, OK; Loyd Cryer, Madill, OK;
Richard Dalrymple, Kingston, OK; Clyde Davis, Donna D. Davis, Jennifer Davis, Lynne Sue
Diaz Delardo, Lila DeLozier, Brittany Diaz, Marty R. Diaz and Jessica L. Dice, Madill, OK;
Debbie Dickerson, Ravia, OK; Carol Dill, Madill, OK; Kevin D. Dill, Oakland, OK; Kenny
Dinse, Jessica Douglas, Jonah Douglas, Danita Carol Dowlen, Gordon Dowlen, Kenneth
Duncan, Mickey Duncan, Robert L. Duncan, Kathleen Duncan, Rogers N. Duncan, David C.
Dunn, Maria Duran, Miguel A. Duran H and Misael Duran, Madill, OK; Blake Dutton and Tina
30
PD 201500082 - COBALT DISPOSAL, LLC
Dutton, Kingston, OK; Johnny Easley, Larry J. Eddy, Charlie E. Edmonds, Virginia L. Edmonds,
Terry Eldridge, Wesley Eldridge, Rosalie Eldridge, Jennifer Elkins, Steve Elkins, Chad L.
Eppler, Loyd D. Eppler, Barbara L. Eppler, Mitch L. Eppler, Victoria Espinosa, Francisco
Espinosa and Rodrigo Esquivel, Madill, OK; Rafael Estrada., Ardmore, OK; Matthew Thomas
Farrar, Rhonda K. Farrimond, Carl C. Ferrell and Benjamin Firethunder, Madill, OK; Mary Fite,
Kingston, OK; Juana Flores, Priscilla Flores, Misty Forbis and Rodney Forbis, Madill, OK;
Anthony Forguson and Charlann Ferguson, Kingston, OK; Betty Fowler, James P. Fowler and
Robert L. Fowler, Madill, OK; Alan Frazee and Stephanie Frazee, Kingston, OK; Kenneth
Freeman, Madill, OK; Richard Freeman and Sharon Freeman, Kingston, OK; Gretchen Friedlein,
Mary Friedlein, Michael S. Friedlein and Uriah Friedlein, Madill, OK; Ronald W. Frost and
Suzanne L. Frost, Kingston, OK; Jaime Furister, Micheal Gable, Vickie L. Gamble, Jesus
Garcia, Migoel Garcia and Nick Garcia, Madill, OK; Berlin W. Gardner and Deborah A.
Gardner, Ardmore, OK; Robert Garfield, Juanell Garrett and Maurice W. Garrett, Madill, OK;
Lori G. Garrett, Lebanon, OK; Patrick W. Garrett, Madill, OK; Robert J. Garrett, Lebanon, OK;
Susan R. Gentis, Virgina Low Gentry, Edith Giles and William Giles, Madill, OK; Michael
Giles, Mead, OK; Kenny G. Gilmore Sr., Kingston, OK; Lavern Glenn, Madill, OK; Bethany
Goates, Oakland, OK; Donna C. Goates, Yvonne Goff, Felix Gomez R and Marlette Gomez,
Madill, OK; Justin Gonsalues, Oakland, OK; Brent Goodwin, Stacia Goodwin, Charlotte
Goodwin, Sam Goodwin, Twila Goodwin, Lori Gorrell, Braden Goss, Brandon Goss, Dorothy
Gray, Jordan Gray, Madison Gray, Phillip Gray and Sherri Gray, Madill, OK; Victor Gayle
Gray, Moore, OK; Mary Greer, Salvador Gnmaldo, Allison Groeber and Greg Groeber, Madill,
OK; Juan Guerrero Jr., Kingston, OK; Manuel Guzman, J. W. Hale, Mary Ann Hale, Taelor
Hale, Leah Hallmark, Brad Hamilton, Matthew Hamilton, Shelly Hamilton, Tony Hankins,
Sharon Rose Hansen, Drue Hardin, Timothy Hardin, Loyd Harkins, Shirley Harkins, Savino
Hamer, Marilyn Harper, James Harrington and Tommye Harris, Madill, OK; Allen Harrison and
Carolyn Harrison, Kingston, OK; Hoy Harrison and Lana Harrison, Kingston, OK; Marcie
Harrison, David Harwell and David Harwell Jr., Madill, OK; Don Hasselman, Kingston, OK;
Michael Hawthorne Jr., Ashley Hawthorne, Samantha Hawthorne and Mason Hawthorne,
Madill, OK; Jack Hendrix, Kingston, OK; Bonnie J0 Hennigan, Brent Henry, Cotton Ward
Henry, Hannah Henry and Melinda Henry, Madill, OK; Clarence L. Heptinstall, Lebanon, OK;
Leobardo Heredia, Hector Hernandez, Jose Hernandez, Noe Hernandez and Tammy Hester,
Madill, OK; Deborah Hewitt and Terry D. Hewitt, Lebanon, OK; Brenda D. lix, Donald W.
Hix, Gary Holmes, Edith Holmes, Maxine Horn, Boby Howard and Joy B. Howell, Madill, OK;
Gary Hucks, Kingston, OK; Clara Huebsch, George Huebsch, Fred Huebsch, Kathy Huebsch,
Franklin D. Huff, Elvy R. Huff, Brenda K. Hutchins, Lorentina Ibarra, Brian K. Idleman and
Robert Imgarten, Madill, OK; Dewayne Jackson, Powell, OK; Dora Jackson, Kingston, OK;
Marvell Jackson, Lisa James, Tina Jaramillo, Johnna Jenkins, Eden C. Jensen, Randel Jensen and
Stephen Jett, Madill, OK; Beverly Johnson and Harold Johnson, Kingston, OK; Janice Johnson,
Calvin Kent Johnson, Jennifer Johnson, Wanda Johnson and Lauren Johnson, Madill, OK;
Richard P. Johnson, Kingston, OK; Terra Jean Johnston, Angela Jones, James Jones, Marcia
Jones, Ronnie Jones, William A. Jones and Roberto Jurado, Madill, OK; John H. Kelly, Mary
Ann Kelly and Rob Kendrick, Kingston, OK; Christy Kenedy, Jennifer Kerr, Nancy Kerr and
Jayson Ketchum, Madill, OK; Philip R. Key, Kingston, OK; Kelly Koning, Madill, OK; Dave
Lack, Kingston, OK; Lee Lambertsen, Jeff Landgraf, Phillip Landgraf, Kathy Landgraf, Ladd
Landgraf, Ronny Landgraf and Tammy Landgraf, Madill, OK; William Lansdale, Glenda
Lansdale and Edward D. Lasiter, Kingston, OK; Janie Laws, Madill, OK; Erin Lemons,
31
PD 201500082— COBALT DISPOSAL, LLC
Kingston, OK; Michelle Lemons and Robert E. Lemons, Madill, OK; Jerry Leonard, John B.
Linville, Lane Lollis and Megan Lollis, Kingston, OK; Larry K. Long and Margaret Long,
Madill, OK; Carey Looney, Mannsville, OK; Gatlin Looney, Santa Monica Lopez, Rafael Lopez,
Aaron Love, Darian Blake Love, Bettye Lowe, Greg Lowe, Robert Lowe and Phyllis Lowe,
Madill, OK; Keith Lowery and Sherry Lowery, Lebanon, OK; Margarita Guzman Lugue and
Norbert Luttmer, Madill, OK; Johnny Macon, Kingston, OK; Angela Maldonado, Madill, OK;
Linda K. Maravich, Milan Maravich and Marcy Markum, Kingston, OK; Angie Marston,
Lebanon, OK; Juan Martinez, Madill, OK; William B. Massey Jr. and Billy Massingill,
Kingston, OK; Arthur F. Masters, Madill, OK; Hugh Matchen, Tressa Matchen and Braden
Matchen, Kingston, OK; Eldon Matthews, Carolyn Maxwell, Nancy May, Drew McAdoo,
Randall E. McAdoo, Douglas R. McBeth, Glenda McBeth and Jimmie McCormick, Madill, OK;
Dawnyce McCoy, Lebanon, OK; Don McCutchen, Wanda McCutchen and Gordon McDaniel,
Kingston, OK; Sharon McDowall, Lebanon, OK; James McIntyre, Kingston, OK; Gary
McKinney, Angela McLees and Daniel McLees, Madill, OK; John McWilliams and Willis
McWilliams, Kingston, OK; Elvia Medina, Randy Meeks and Barbara Meeks, Madill, OK; Exa
Melton and Pepper Melton, Lebanon, OK; Miguel Mendez, Madill, OK; Sherry Metcalf, Colbert,
OK; Melissa Meza, Chris Miller and Mike Miller, Kingston, OK; Cole Minor, Michael Minor
and Cletara Mitchell, Madill, OK; Connie Montgomery, Steven Montgomery and Amantha
Moore, Kingston, OK; Alfreda Moore, Georgina G. Moore, Robert L. Moore, Edvardo Morales,
Victor Morales, Jaime Morales and Karrie Morman, Madill, OK; Devin Muncrief, Kingston,
OK; Craig Murphy and Angela Murray, Madill, OK; Ronald B. Myers and Sharon L. Myers,
Lebanon, OK; George L. Nabors, Kingston, OK; Randy Nabors, Kingston, OK; Chad Nance,
Madill, OK; Erik Nance, Ramona Nance and Shayla Nance, Kingston, OK; Taylor Nance,
Durant, OK; Robert D. Navarrett, Kingston, OK; Gaylan W. Neal and Garey Nelms, Madill,
OK; Phyllis Kaye Newton, Kingston, OK; Charles L. Nichols, Madill, OK; Jerald Nickell and
Lynda Nickel!, Kingston, OK; Katie S. Niday, Jimmy Nunley, Starr Oldham, Sarah Olgvin, Gary
Oliver, Louise J. Oliver, Michael Oliver, Paula Oliver and Ronny Oliver, Madill, OK; Justin On,
Kingston, OK; Donnie Owens, Waxahachie, TX; Eunice Page, Lebanon, OK; Mary Alice Page,
Kingston, OK; Peggy Page, Madill, OK; Charolett Painter and Larry Painter, Lebanon, OK;
Caroline M. Park and Weldon K. Park, Kingston, OK; Austin Parker, Melissa Parris, Sarah
Parris and Wendyl Parrish, Madill, OK; Robert Patton, Kingston, OK; Bruce E. Payne, Charles
Pearson, Harold Peery and Justin Peery, Madill, OK; Wayne Peoples, Kingston, OK; Lazaro
Peralta, Madill, OK; Jim Perry, Amarillis Perry, Carl Pershica and Donna Pershica, Kingston,
OK; Jimmy Phillips and Marilyn K. Phillips, Kingston, OK; Bernice Pickens, Cathy D. Pickens,
Clay D. Pickens, Lina Pickens and Linda Pickens, Madill, OK; Donna S. Pierce, Kingston, OK;
Jessi Pierce, Rebekah Pierce and Storm Pierce, Madill, OK; Wayne Pierce, Walter Pipkin, Hilary
Pipkin and Lynsey Polster, Kingston, OK; Eli Posey and Linda Posey, Madill, OK; Edward J.
Poulter and Marsha K. Poulter, Kingston, OK; Eric Wayne Powell, Kennith Priddy, Rachael
Priddy, Jackie Porter, Jean C. Pyeatt, John A. Rago, Everardo Ramirez, Tracy Ramirez, Tyler
Ramirez, and Michael L. Ray, Madill, OK; Barbara Rebold, Celeste Reed and Jackie Reed,
Kingston, OK; Wayne Reed, Suzan Reese, Pamela Reich, Dot Richardson, Leon Richardson,
Lyndell Rigsby, and Isidro Rivera, Madill, OK; Royce Roberts, Lebanon, OK; Tara Roberts,
Ernie Robertson and Larry Robinson, Madill, OK; Marshall Robinson, Leah R. Rogan and Chris
Rogers, Kingston, OK; Debra Rogers, Jimmy Rogers, Niki Rogers and James H. Rollins, Madill,
OK; Cecil E. Roper, Lebanon, OK; Doug Rose and Dillon Runyan, Madill, OK; Charles
Rushing, Leon Rushing, Richard Rushing and Terri Rushing, Lebanon, OK; Kenneth Russell,
32
PD 201500082— COBALT DISPOSAL, LLC
R.L. Rutherford, LaWanda Rutherford, Antonio Salazar and Gloria Salazar, Kingston, OK;
Celso Salazar, Edequid Sanchez, Jose Luis Sanchez, Josefina Sanchez and Raul Sanchez, Madill,
OK; Tommy Sandefur, Kingston, OK; L.S. Sanders, Lebanon, OK; Charles Sandefur, Basil W.
Savage, Steve Savage, Mary Ann Saxon, Wes Saxon, Darcy Schulke, Steven J. Schulke,
Amanda Scott, Carmen J. Scott, Helen Fern Seigler, Dianne Self, Donnie Self, Lydia Shaw and
Bill Shebester, Madill, OK; Bobby Shebester, Dawn Shebester and Jaret Shebester, Lebanon,
OK; Clara Sheffield, Madill, OK; Brandon Shirah, Tishomingo, OK; Jesse Shrum, Madill, OK;
Eddie Sikes, Kingston, OK; Antonio Herrera Simental, Robert R. Simmons, Stacy Sitz, Chris
Smith, Donna S. Smith, George A. Smith, Robert E. Soltis Jr., Porfirio J. Soto, John Spiars,
Charley David Sprouse and Patsy Sprouse, Madill, OK; Robin Squires and Stephen Squires,
Kingston, OK; Mack Stafford, June Standridge, Josephine Stanley, and Bobby Story, Madill,
OK; Cassandra Jean Stover and Melvin Stover, Kingston, OK; Guy Eva Stowers, Justin
Stuckey, Alberta Stumpif, Stefanie Stumpff, Deanna K. Sullivan, James L. Sullivan, Bobby
Szenasi, Tracy Szenasi, Diana Taffarello, Alvita Taylor, Wesley Taylor, James Temple and
David Thomas, Madill, OK; David Thomas, Kingston, OK; Patrick L. Tickel, Patty Tickel,
Delline Tooley, Zulema Tones, Sheila Tracy, Joel A. Trammell, Tresa Trammel!, Kelly
Trammell, Travis Trammell, David Truitt, Joanna Dell Tuck, Bret R. Turner, Jody Turner,
Wendy Turner, Alfredo Valles R., Renee Vance, Richard Votaw, Enrique Voues, Davie
Waggoner, William Wagoner, Barbara Wallace, Sharon Wallace, and Jimmy R. Ward, Madill,
OK; William D. Ward and LaVeta Ward, Kingston, OK; Millicent McClure Watson, Bryant
Watts, Brad Watts, Macy Watts, Sarah J. Watts, Marvin B. Watts Jr., Robbie Lee Watts, Shanon
Watts and David Weaver, Madill, OK; Brenda Welch, Kingston, OK; Dewayne Wellman,
Karen T. Wellman, Dakota Wescott, Kyleigh Wescott, Danny Westbrook, Darrel Wheeler,
Wayne Wheeler, Justin Wheeler, Cody Wheeler, Michelle Wheeler, and Reginald C. Whitaker,
Madill, OK; Dawn White, Kingston, OK; Lori Muncrief-White and Jerry Dan White, Madill,
OK; Nathan White, Kingston, OK; Kendall Whitehead, Janna Renae Whitley, Michael Whitley,
Lonnie Whitmire, Rhonda Whitsett, Steve Whitsett, Lance Whitsett, Lukas Whitsett and Bobbie
J. Whitten, Madill, OK; Robert V. Wilder and Bill H. Williams, Kingston, OK; Duane T.
Williams, Cale Williams, Jace Williams, Jim Williams, Joe Williams, Sherry Williams and Tina
Williams, Madill, OK; Vera L. Williams, Kingston, OK; Dink Ellis Williford, Lebanon, OK; Sue
F. Willis, Kingston, OK; Dale W. Wilson, Madill, OK; Earl D. Wise, Kingston, OK; J.L.
Woody, John Woody and Linda Woody, Madill, OK; Virginia Wornom, Kingston, OK; Dale
Wren, Kingston, OK; Ray Yeats, Madill, OK; Tommy A. Young, Lebanon, OK; and Donald W.
Yow, Madill, OK;
33