A months-long environmental crisis in Caddo County, Oklahoma, involving the unauthorized release of high-salinity fluid into surface waters, has led to an enforcement action by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) against Houston-based Nject Disposal LLC. The OCC alleges the company’s operations at its Pearcy #1 saltwater disposal well triggered a saltwater purge contaminating Five Mile Creek and nearby water systems.
The OCC’s Oil and Gas Conservation Division (OGCD) filed a formal “Complaint for Contempt of Rules and Regulations” on November 6, seeking maximum statutory penalties of $5,000 per violation per day. The commission is also pursuing revocation of Nject’s permit to operate Pearcy #1, potential forfeiture of the operator’s surety bond, or a significant increase in bonding requirements.
A hearing on the complaint has been scheduled for November 25.
Regulatory scrutiny intensifies as environmental threat escalates
The discharge of saltwater was first brought to the attention of authorities on September 16, following a report from Dillon Robbins of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. That same day, OGCD field inspector Carl Saucier began investigating reports of livestock and wildlife deaths in the region. Within 48 hours, Mike Loula, a rancher in Colony, Oklahoma, publicly stated that 25 of his cattle died after drinking from Five Mile Creek on his property near Eakly.
The OCC confirmed that the saltwater discharge entered Five Mile Creek roughly two miles upstream from Loula’s ranch. Testing indicated the presence of over 130,000 parts per million (ppm) total dissolved solids (TDS), a concentration far above safe thresholds for livestock or ecological health. The purge was traced to land owned by Jim Ridgeway near Carnegie, in close proximity to Nject’s Pearcy #1 disposal well, which was subsequently shut down in an effort to slow or stop the flow.
Saucier reported that multiple producing wells in the area were also shut in to allow for casing pressure monitoring. Initial mitigation efforts included trenching and pit excavation to divert the saltwater away from Five Mile Creek, a tributary that feeds Cobb Creek and Fort Cobb Lake. Fort Cobb Lake serves as a drinking water source for the cities of Chickasha and Anadarko.
Nject initially assisted with containment and removal efforts, including trucking purge water offsite. However, the company ceased its involvement on September 19, citing lack of funds. From that point forward, the OGCD assumed responsibility for managing the situation, contracting two tanker truck operators to haul the fluid to a licensed disposal well operated by S&S Star in Blaine County, north of Hydro.
Each tanker truck holds approximately 120 barrels. As of November 10, the site was producing roughly six truckloads of fluid per day. OGCD reported that 747 barrels of saltwater were hauled from the site on November 11, down significantly from the September 26 peak of 1,582 barrels.
By early October, the commission was averaging 11 to 13 truckloads per day. Containment and hauling operations were costing the state an estimated $3,700 daily, Saucier told an administrative law judge.
Public funds deployed as search for source continues
On September 24, OCC Chair Kim David notified Governor Kevin Stitt of what she described as a “serious environmental emergency and threat to public health and safety.” The governor authorized the use of emergency contracting and state funds to support the commission’s response. That same day, all three Corporation Commissioners agreed to allocate unencumbered and unallocated state funds to help control the purge.
The OCC also began testing area water wells for possible contamination and collected water samples from Five Mile Creek, Cobb Creek, and Fort Cobb Lake. These tests aimed to evaluate both the extent of contamination and identify the source. According to OCC spokesman Trey Davis, the saltwater purge does not currently pose a threat to the drinking water supplies of Chickasha or Anadarko.
The precise origin of the purge remains under investigation. While the OCC has not issued a definitive cause, a still-unidentified well is suspected of releasing produced water due to pressures related to injection operations at the Pearcy #1 disposal well. Director of OGCD Jeremy Hodges noted in his filing that the saltwater discharge may be “the result of injection into the Searcy #1 saltwater disposal well.”
Despite some improvement in water quality, the OCC continues to remove contaminated water and monitor the area. Saucier reported that by early October, levels of total dissolved solids in the creek had declined as Nject and later the OGCD removed saltwater from two deep pools—one near the source and another four miles downstream.
Five Mile Creek has since been deemed “returned to beneficial use,” according to an October 6 field report. Still, the commission remains committed to the cleanup effort, vowing to “continue its operation until such time as the flow stops,” Davis said.
“We’ll get ’er knocked out eventually,” Saucier added.
The incident highlights the critical role of regulatory oversight and enforcement in Oklahoma’s oil and gas sector, particularly around disposal well operations. With the upcoming hearing on November 25, the outcome could influence future permitting and bonding standards for commercial saltwater disposal wells operating across the state.
