At the appeal hearing attorneys for Vian and the Cherokee Nation argued against an OCC recommendation that a saltwater disposal well in Vian be approved. Although the recommendation was made several months ago by an OCC administrative law judge, the OCC has not announced approval of the recommendation.
Matt Skinner, OCC information officer, said Monday, “Nothing really happened at the hearing in terms of a finding by the referee. She will take all the arguments under advisement and make a recommendation sometime later. There’s no word on when she will issue a report.”
Patricia MacGuigan, a former judge and presiding judge of the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, heard the appeal.
During the hearing Vian attorney Larry Vickers and Cherokee Nation attorney Todd Hembree had 30 minutes to speak and attorneys for I-MAC, which has applied for the well, had 30 minutes to speak. The Cherokee Nation has joined with the Town of Vian in opposing the well.
Lacey Horn, a Vian resident, wrote last week in a letter to the editor that over 800 Vian residents signed a petition opposing the well.
Horn wrote that the concerns of the Vian residents were about: the proximity — less than 1,000 feet — of the well to Vian School; the possible disturbance of radioactive wastes at Sequoyah Fuels by injecting saltwater waste deep into subterranean shale layers; the pollution of the air, soil and water that may result; pollution from trucks hauling waste in the forms of odor, gas and noise; the origin and content of the substance to be disposed of; and the loss in real estate values.
