Houma residents who live and work near the site of a proposed oilfield waste disposal well say they’re upset about a court ruling that allows the project to move forward. A judge ruled late last week that a state permit allowing Vanguard Environmental to drill the well supersedes local laws preventing such drilling within a mile of residences or businesses. State law only requires the well to be 500 feet away. Terrebonne Parish officials have said they plan to appeal the decision. The (Houma) Courier reports that Vanguard’s management has repeatedly declined to comment, but the company’s lawyers said in court Friday that the facility doesn’t pose a risk to nearby residents and the well will follow all state guidelines for environmental safety. The lawyers also said Vanguard wants to start building the facility “as soon as possible.” The well would be less than a mile away from two schools. It would inject wastewater under high pressure into sand formations about 4,000 feet underground. Nolan Bergeron is an environmental advocate who helped create the parish’s one-mile buffer zone law in the early 1980s. He’s worried about the precedent the judge’s decision sets. “It used to be that people would just dig holes and dump their waste in it, and we worked very hard to create an ordinance that would make things safer,” Bergeron says. “To water that ordinance down to 500 feet? I don’t think that’s right.”
Today’s poll question: Do you think a 500-foot buffer zone between drilling activities and homes, schools or businesses is adequate to ensure public safety?
