Wyoming regulators have issued a one-time permit for Encore Green Environmental to test whether its technology to treat oil drilling and manufacturing wastewater can help vegetation grow on a farm.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality issued the permit this month, allowing Encore Green Environmental to apply about 7,000 barrels of the treated water to private farmland outside Pine Bluffs near the Nebraska state line by the end of the year.
The permit marks the project's transformation to reality after several years of planning, reported Casper Star Tribune.
“Stock growers have said they see how this could work, and that it’s going to be an opportunity for agriculture to improve,” said company co-founder Marvin Nash.
The company aims to solve the problem of too much oil and manufacturing wastewater being produced at industrial sites while nearby agricultural lands are in need of water.
The state permit sets maximum amounts for a wide range of chemicals that can be found in the water. It also requires Encore Green to ensure the treated water does not pool or run off the land covered by each application, according to Casper Star Tribune.
Company officials and a representative of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association hope this technology can make it easier for the next generation of farmers to stay in agriculture.
“We can celebrate that we’ve survived for 150 years, but far more important is what are we putting in place today to move this industry in a positive way for the next 150 years,” said Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the association.
The company has also applied for a second permit to use the treated wastewater on farmland northeast of Cheyenne, reported Casper Star Tribune.
