9/01/2025

Montana Renewables won’t publicly commit to underground injection

A long-pending application to inject wastewater from the Montana Renewables biorefinery into unused oil wells in Pondera County will get a new public hearing next month.

After the public expressed concerns about the wastewater, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attempted to predict the spread of the material over 10,000 years. The findings indicated that the wastewater could drift as far as two miles, deep underground in the Madison Aquifer, although the agency claims that drinking water sources in the area will not be affected.

The plan has received sustained scrutiny from locals, particularly the three Pondera County commissioners who worry there are too many unknowns to risk contaminating current wate

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