BY Sheri McWhirter
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com
May 07, 2009 11:45 pm ACME -- Some Acme Township residents plan to fight a proposed deep-injection disposal well for oil and gas brine. They worry about potential impacts to groundwater and believe the well eventually could be used for fruit processing wastewater, akin to another nearby well in Whitewater Township. Environmental officials said they have nothing to fret about with the Grand Traverse County wells, but residents intend to voice their objections at a coming public hearing. Traverse City-based O.I.L. Energy Corp. wants to pump fruit waste into a deep-injection disposal well it operates north of M-72 in Whitewater Township. The company also applied to drill a new well off U.S. 31 in Acme Township for oil and gas brine. Rachelle Babcock, of Acme, wants fruit wastewater to be treated to remove all toxins and properly disposed of, not pumped underground. She also suspects the proposed new brine well in Acme will in time be re-classified to use for fruit and other industrial waste, she said. "I'm concerned about groundwater, should some breach happen within the system. It only takes one spill," Babcock said. Bob Garvey lives next door to the proposed Acme well site. He uses a private drinking water well and doesn't want it contaminated. "I just can't comprehend why anyone would want to put that type of use in an area designated as rural residential," Garvey said. Company officials did not respond to requests for comment, but sent an e-mail to the Record-Eagle stating they will answer the public's questions at a May 19 meeting. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency intends to approve the proposed new brine well and reclassify the existing well to allow the company to inject fruit waste. "Our job is to ensure that ... the injection well does not impact underground drinking water," said William Tong, EPA permit writer. Federal environmental officials contend neither well will do that. Other experts aren't so sure. Environmental consultant Chris Grobbel, hired by local residents, is concerned about the proposed Acme well's proximity -- a few hundred yards -- to a drinking water recharge area for a nearby residential development. It's "too close for comfort, should there be any subsurface impact," he said. Andy Knott, executive director of the Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay, also worries about impacts from possible spills on both ground and surface water, he said, such as nearby Grand Traverse Bay. EPA plans meeting The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold an informational meeting about existing and proposed O.I.L. Energy Corp. wells in Grand Traverse County on May 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Mill Creek Elementary School, 9039 Old M-72, in Williamsburg. Public hearings will immediately follow at 7 p.m. for the proposed Acme Township well and at 8 p.m. for the Whitewater Township well re-classification. Officials from the EPA, the company and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will be available to answer questions.
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