Dive Brief:

• If it is approved, a special waste landfill proposed for Eastern Montana, north of Culbertson, would take oilfield waste. The proposed Clay Butte Disposal Facility would accept oil field waste including drill cuttings and contaminated soil.
• John McCain, project engineer for the proposed landfill, said the key factor is keeping the waste dry. “It’s not the waste materials themselves that can escape from the landfill and cause problems, it’s the water percolating through the waste that picks up contaminants,” McCain said.
• The proposed landfill would be located along Highway 16, about five miles north of Culbertson. The public comment period for the landfill ends June 24.

Dive Insight:

Even if placed in a dry cell landfill as proposed, disposing of oilfield waste naturally raises concerns of residents who live nearby such a site. The proposed Culbertson area landfill could be built within a mile of 20 homes. But residents would like it located further.

"We’d like it away, three or four miles away from residences," said Gordon Oelkers, mayor of Culbertson.