Would You Want Oil & Gas Waste Dumped in Your Backyard?

A tiny Texas town, population 316, fights back against an oil and gas waste dump site.

By Alain StephensAugust 4, 2016 1:45 pm,

The people of Nordheim, in southeast Texas, aren’t just complaining about a dump site in their town – they’re suing the state to stop it. Paul Baumann, a rancher in Nordheim, is at the forefront of this effort. He’s head of the citizen group behind the lawsuit.

Baumann says they heard about the dump three years ago, through binders that residents received about the proposed site. “I was just so shocked when I read what it was,” he says. “I just couldn’t believe it… I called the number that was on the binders and then I called the Railroad Commission to see what was going on. Then I started going in circles.”

For Baumann, it’s not about the industry – it’s about plant’s location close to town. “My back porch where that site is… is like 125 feet from one of those 25-foot-deep disposal wells, where they’re going to bury that stuff and it’s going to be there forever. That ain’t right.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– How Nordheim residents banded together to fight the proposed waste dump site

– The details about the waste dump, including how close it is to town and who lives near the site

– What concerns Baumann has if the plant is built and what the residents want to happen instead