CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming regulators have issued a one-time permit for a company to test whether its technology to treat oil drilling and manufacturing wastewater can help vegetation grow on a farm.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality permit issued this month allows Encore Green Environmental to apply about 7,000 barrels of the treated water to private farmland outside Pine Bluffs near the Nebraska state line by the end of the year.
The Wyoming company’s co-founder, Marvin Nash, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagl e the permit marks the project’s transformation to reality after several years of planning.
“Stock growers have said they see how this could work, and that it’s going to be an opportunity for agriculture to improve,” Nash said.
The company says on its website that it wants to solve the problem of too much oil and manufacturing wastewater being produced at industrial sites while nearby agricultural lands are in need of water.
The state permit sets maximum amounts for a wide range of chemicals, from ammonia to zinc, that can be found in the water. It also requires Encore Green to ensure the treated water does not pool or run off the land covered by each application.
The company plans to form a citizens and scientific advisory committee to address any environmental concerns raised.
“The agriculture world has nothing to hide,” Nash said.
Company officials and a representative of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association say they hope such technology can make it easier for the next generation of farmers to stay in agriculture.
“We can celebrate that we’ve survived for 150 years, but far more important is what are we putting in place today to move this industry in a positive way for the next 150 years,” said Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the association.
The company also has applied for a second permit to use the treated wastewater on farmland northeast of Cheyenne.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.