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GRANDFALLS — An old oil well sprang back to life under the parking lot of the First Baptist Church of Grandfalls in April.
Over the next eight days, more than 1.5 million gallons of toxic wastewater flowed out of the earth, according to state records. The state regulator, the Railroad Commission, spent $1.49 million plugging the leak and another $1.16 million disposing of the wastewater back underground. By early June, crews had stopped the flow and plugged the wellbore.
Fortunately, wastewater did not enter the church. The imminent threat passed. But questions linger for the church’s pastor and Permian Basin residents. Why do old wells in the area keep blowing out? What will happen if the next leak isn’t under a parking lot, but a house or school?
The Permian Basin’s oil and gas wells generate prodigious quantities of wastewater, known as produced water. This salty, toxic liquid is pumped underground into injection wells, increasing underground pressure. This pressure is finding its way to the surface through old wells that burst and spew wastewater aboveground.
The Railroad Commission requested injection wells within a five-mile radius of Grandfalls to stop pumping waste underground while the leak was being plugged. Agency spokesperson Bryce Dubee said that the old well underneath the parking lot is still under investigation.
When David Tucker stepped in as the interim pastor at First Baptist last summer, his biggest concern was replacing an aging air conditioning unit. But once the leak sprang, Tucker, an oil and gas industry veteran, was uniquely qualified to help. He hopes the incident can lead to change.
“This was kind of a good thing because it brought attention to what’s happening,” he said, referring to the spate of oilfield leaks and geysers in the Permian Basin.
A drone video shows Railroad Commission workers at the site of the leak on April 22. The salty residue of the spill is visible on the parking lot pavement. Courtesy of Sarah Stogner
Tucker praised the Railroad Commission’s quick response but said the agency needs more resources to address the problem.
“They’re trying to do a good job. But they don’t have the money to do it. They’re overwhelmed,” he said. “The state needs to turn loose some more money to start funding this.”
Dubee, the RRC spokesperson, said the agency’s State Managed Plugging program “remains focused on addressing the well in Grandfalls.”
“We’re doing something subsurface”
Injection wells are designed to seal wastewater permanently underground. But a few years ago, wastewater started blasting out at the surface, causing geysers, leaks and sinkholes.
Tucker, the pastor, is no stranger to the problem. On his own property outside Grandfalls, he has called the Railroad Commission for help when old wells started leaking. Ranches near Grandfalls in Crane, Pecos and Ward counties have been hot spots for surface leaks, including a towering geyser in 2022 and a blowout in 2023.
“We’re doing something subsurface, and I think everybody knows it,” Tucker said. “We’ve turned a lot of the shale play into just one big crack. Everything’s communicating.”
Pastor David Tucker stands outside the First Baptist Church of Grandfalls. Tucker stepped in as pastor at the church last summer in addition to his full-time job in the oil and gas industry. Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News
Unlike previous incidents, the leak that sprang on April 21 was smack-dab in the middle of town. The First Baptist Church, built in 1955, is on Grandfall’s main thoroughfare, Avenue D. It’s down the block from the town’s sole gas station and across the street from a K-12 school. The gusher in Grandfalls is the most significant oilfield wastewater incident to date within a populated area in Texas.
According to census data, 375 people live in Grandfalls. More than 20% of residents live below the poverty line and nearly half the population is Hispanic.
Inside Climate News obtained records from the Railroad Commission that document the agency’s response. Water testing results from a Midland lab showed the wastewater was loaded with chloride, sulfate and had total dissolved solids of 138,771 parts per million, or four times saltier than seawater. These results are consistent with produced water.
Water pools at the First Baptist Church of Grandfalls on April 21 while a Railroad Commission staff member looks on. Courtesy of Schuyler Wight
Railroad Commission daily reports detailed how vacuum trucks slurped up the wastewater pouring out of the ground. From the night of April 21 into the next morning, 2,280 barrels, or 95,760 gallons, of wastewater were hauled away. In a 24-hour period between April 22 and 23, 6,600 barrels, or 277,200 gallons, were trucked offsite.
In a 24-hour period between April 25 and 26, over 10,000 barrels of wastewater, or 42,000 gallons, were taken offsite.
“We are seeing a 7 [barrel] per minute release from the leak site,” a Railroad Commission employee noted in the daily report. By then, 21 vacuum trucks were rotating through the site to keep up with the deluge.
Oil was also leaking from the ground, according to the documents.
Contractors rushed to find the source of the leak. By April 29, crews were finally able to find a wellbore and fill it with concrete to stop the flow.
The well’s location is marked on Railroad Commission maps, but the agency has not been able to identify when it was drilled. Numerous oil wells were drilled in Grandfalls in the 1930s.
“The RRC has located historic well records for wells in the area and while we have not yet been able to positively identify the well in question, we continue to investigate potential sources,” the agency spokesperson said.
Hawk Dunlap, a well control specialist who has previously run for a seat on the Railroad Commission, was encouraged to hear the agency suspended injection in the area. He said that Permian Basin residents like him often have to “read between the lines” to understand how the agency responds to emergencies.
But he noted the irony of the wastewater being trucked to injection wells and pumped back underground.
“You’re taking it out of one and putting it in another,” he said.
“They should at least know that these wells exist”
State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, a Republican from Odessa, visited the First Baptist Church on April 24.
“This particular situation is under control, with no apparent threats to public safety,” he wrote on Facebook. “Obviously, a well that was plugged in the 1930s causing a leak in town is a reason to be concerned, and I’m in discussion with folks who have the scientific background to help better address situations like this.”
Landgraf has advocated for Texas to issue permits to use treated produced water outside the oilfield to reduce the volumes injected underground. On April 29, he posted about meeting with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) officials to discuss the agency’s permitting process for spreading treated produced water on land.
“Every gallon of produced water that they permit for safe land application is one fewer gallon that is injected into the ground in and around the Permian Basin,” he wrote. “TCEQ was very receptive, and I’m confident they are moving forward as quickly as they can.”
Landgraf did not respond to questions from Inside Climate
