Fearing contamination of their drinking water wells, residents in New Harmony, Ind., have opposed a proposal by an oil company that wants to pump a saltwater byproduct back into the ground, reports a recent article in the Evansville Courier & Press. The newspaper says that at a recent meeting, more than two dozen neighbors expressed their disapproval of the company's plan to inject brine, which is a saltwater byproduct of oil drilling, back into a well at one particular site.
Petco Petroleum Corp., which is based in Hinsdale, Ill., has requested a permit from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Oil and Gas Division to inject up to 1,000 gallons a day of brine into a specially sealed well. Company officials say the well would serve as a backup to a brine well already on site, the article reports.