# Protesting a Salt Water Disposal Well with Railroad Commission
**URL:** https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/protesting-a-salt-water-disposal-well-with-railroad-commission/41102
**Category:** General Mineral Rights Discussion
**Created:** [February 1, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/protesting-a-salt-water-disposal-well-with-railroad-commission/41102 "2019-02-01T15:25:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@M\_D](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/M_D)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/protesting-a-salt-water-disposal-well-with-railroad-commission/41102/1 "2019-02-01T15:25:34Z")
Hi. Has anyone had success protesting a Salt Water Disposal Well with Railroad Commission in Reeves, Ward, Pecos Counties, Texas? We have a pre-hearing and then hearing coming up soon with the RRC. We are in need of some advice on what argument works or what expert I should call to help us succeed. Thank you!
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### Author:  [@Louis\_Napoleon](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Louis_Napoleon)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/protesting-a-salt-water-disposal-well-with-railroad-commission/41102/2 "2019-02-07T02:17:09Z")
It would depend on the reason why you’re protesting the salt water disposal well. The usual arguments are that it’s in close proximity from a place of residence, concern of seismicity, etc. You could contact a professional engineer who may discuss ways in which to discuss your legal argument since professional engineers typically testify at RRC hearings. Legal counsel also provide regulatory counsel as well.
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### Author:  [@Ernie\_Hernandez](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Ernie_Hernandez)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/protesting-a-salt-water-disposal-well-with-railroad-commission/41102/3 "2019-09-24T15:28:09Z")
Hi, I’m new to site, are salt water mines/disposal bad for environment?
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### Author:  [@spectralguy55](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/spectralguy55)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/protesting-a-salt-water-disposal-well-with-railroad-commission/41102/4 "2019-09-29T16:48:41Z")
Opinions vary, but here is a question for you. If you drill a well and get oil, gas, and water, which will almost always be saltwater, and pump that water back into the same formation, what have you changed? What damage have you done in pumping that water back into that formation?
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### Author:  [@Ernie\_Hernandez](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Ernie_Hernandez)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/protesting-a-salt-water-disposal-well-with-railroad-commission/41102/5 "2019-10-02T02:24:17Z")
Honestly, I don’t know. I’m trying to keep land/mineral rights and looking for other ways for income with 20 acres in Reeves County that are now mine.
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### Author:  [@spectralguy55](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/spectralguy55)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/protesting-a-salt-water-disposal-well-with-railroad-commission/41102/6 "2019-10-03T02:37:11Z")
The answer is that injecting salt water back into the same formation it came from helps maintain fluid and gas pressures and can make the wells more productive. (It does depend on just where the wells are in relation to each other.) But, the salt water came from there, so putting it back can’t harm anything. Freshwater aquifers that we use for drinking, irrigating, etc., are not anywhere near the depths that most oil and gas wells are drilled to anymore, and there are generally impermeable strata between. So long as the well passes the licensing hurdles, the odds of ecological harm are rather small. On the other hand, what do you do with that saltwater if you DON’T inject it? Dumping it into a freshwater ecosystem isn’t going to help that ecosystem if the salinity is much at all.
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### Author:  [@MRFAdmin\_SV](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/MRFAdmin_SV)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2025, 7:18pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/protesting-a-salt-water-disposal-well-with-railroad-commission/41102/7 "2025-01-11T19:18:49Z")