ENID, OKLAHOMA — The City of Enid has appealed to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to revoke the permit for the Flying Monkey injection well. The city's action cites the well's repeated structural failures and its proximity to public water wells.

The Flying Monkey injection well is situated less than a quarter-mile from two of the City of Enid's water wells. Oklahoma state rules restrict oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells unless regulators conduct a hearing.

In 2018, state regulators approved the permit for the Flying Monkey injection well without holding the required hearing. Hinkle Oil & Gas applied for this permit in 2018. The current operator of the Flying Monkey injection well is BCE-Mach III Midstream Holdings LLC.

The Safe Drinking Water Act mandates that oil states create specific regulations to safeguard public water wells from oil and gas wastewater injection. Despite this, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has issued nearly 400 orders granting exceptions to injection regulations since 2022.

An investigation identified at least 114 injection wells in Oklahoma located within a half-mile of a public water supply well. More than 300,000 Oklahomans reside in communities that depend on public water wells located within a half-mile of oil field disposal wells. The case concerning the Flying Monkey injection well is scheduled to be heard in the Oklahoma Corporation Commission's administrative law court later in the year.

"It's ultimately all one big aquifer. You can't just pee in part of the pool. If any of the aquifer is tainted, all of the aquifer will be tainted," said Ben Ezzell, former Enid city commissioner.