For five years, toxic oilfield wastewater has been pouring out of the ground across Oklahoma. It has blasted out of old orphan wells, poured out of the ground, and spread widely below the surface – polluting water supplies used by farmers, tribal nations, towns and citizens. State regulators have long known about the scale and causes of these events, known as “purges,” but have failed to address them. For The Frontier and ProPublica, and with support from the Fund, Nick Bowlin reviewed thousands of public records, analyzed state records, and interviewed a former key state employee to document the extent of the problem, its impact and the state’s failure to address it.
For The Frontier and ProPublica, grantee uncovers failure of Oklahoma regulators to stop toxic wastewater from oil fields
