Oklahoma Oil Company Plugs Disposal Well That Posed Threat to City’s Drinking Water

The Flying Monkey disposal well in Enid, Oklahoma. Last year, the city asked the state to revoke the Flying Monkey’s permit to operate. September Dawn Bottoms for ProPublica An Oklahoma oil and gas company plugged a well that disposes of oil production’s toxic byproduct after an investigation by The Frontier and ProPublica revealed that regulators had approved the well in violation of state rules meant to protect public groundwater supplies. The disposal well, named the Flying Monkey, injected oil field wastewater underground and sat roughly a quarter-mile from two municipal groundwater supply sites that served the small city of Enid in northwest Oklahoma. Wastewater injection operations are banned within a half-mile of public water wells unless regulators hold a hearing to ensure that this activity will not pollute groundwater.