Railroad Commission Approves Toxic Waste Ponds Next to Baptist Camp

Texas regulators recently authorized a company to operate ponds to store and recycle millions of gallons of oilfield wastewater laced with toxic chemicals next to a Baptist summer camp in the Permian Basin.

The Richards Recycling Facility will store, treat and recycle produced water, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, after obtaining a state permit on Jan. 30. Staff and board members at the Circle 6 Baptist Camp worry the facility will jeopardize their well water and expose campers to hazardous air pollution.

“I would be very alarmed if I was working at that Baptist Center,” said Dominic DiGiulio, a geoscientist who retired after a 25-year career at the Environmental Protection Agency and now consults for non-governmental organizations. “It’s a kind of chemical stew that’s going into these ponds.”

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