The Department Of Energy’s $1.44 billion dollar loan to Montana Renewables was restored this week to expand their production of renewable fuels.
The company hopes to use the funds to produce a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and requested approval from the environmental protection agency to inject their wastewater from the project into Madison Aquifer depleted oil wells along the Rocky Mountain Front in Pondera County.
While Pondera County Commissioners and the Golden Triangle Resource Council welcome this loan, the county is concerned this could negatively impact drinking and irrigation water.
“Water has a history of moving,” explained Golden Triangle Resource Council Member, Steve Grout. “The fear is that the wastewater, which is high strength, industrial water, could end up contaminating drinking water. And, it might not be for a week, might not be for five years, could be ten years. It's a huge gamble to take and that's the fear for the farmers and ranchers and everybody else in Pondera County.”
The county is hoping that Calumet and Montana Renewables will use a portion of their funds towards increasing sustainability. For now, the company have been shipping its SAF projet wastewater to Idaho until the EPA makes a decision.
While there are plans to eventually create a water treatment plant to handle the waste the SAF process will generate on site, the plan won’t be put into effect until stage 2 of the project, which might not happen until at least 2028.
Pondera County is urging MT Renewables to prioritize construction of a wastewater treatment plant within the first phase of the project and as soon as possible to avoid any water contamination.
According to the Pondera County sanitarian, Corrine Rose, if the water migrates into other aquifers or into Lake Francis which is about 5 miles away from the wells, the damage could be catastrophic. “We know that there is a sustainable solution. We know that building a water treatment facility will help keep contaminated water away from the vital and limited water resources on Pondera County. We can prevent another disaster like the Berkeley Pit, and if there was contamination, it’s not the EPA or Calumet that has to clean it up. The damage falls on taxpayer dollars.”
We contacted Calumet and Montana Renewables, but they declined to be interviewed.
Back in October, they sent a statement that said, “Our wastewater is not polluted and must meet all EPA requirements before injection into any wells.”
The project is expected to create 450 construction jobs and up to 40 operation jobs.
Pondera County Commissioners and the Golden Triangle Resource Council will continue urging Montana Renewables to build the water treatment plant first, and will continue to remain in communication to find a positive solution.
