Several weeks ago, a group of landowners northeast of Hennessey met to review applications from two companies seeking to build a solid waste processing facility north of town.
According to the application, the proposed site is located 1.2 miles east of U.S. 81 and 0.5 miles south of the intersection of N2880 Road and E0590 Road.
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) filing states the facility would handle and process about 100 to 150 tons of non-hazardous industrial waste daily through stabilization and solidification. It was noted that this is not an oil well disposal site.
Landowners are especially concerned about several variances requested in the application. Materials proposed for disposal include salt-contaminated soils, spent filters, glycol, amine, caustic wash, backwash, and other on-site generated wastes. One variance would allow the facility to accept unlimited chloride without testing.
The plan calls for mixing liquid waste with fly ash to turn it into a more solid material that can be moved or stacked into pits, or mounded up to a maximum height of 30 feet.
โFly ash can be a toxic material depending on where it comes from because it is the result of combustible materials,โ said landowner Mike Maly.
Denise Shimanek, a retired Hennessey teacher who attended the meeting, said she is worried about what could drift toward town. โIโm worried about the ash blowing over the school,โ she said. โWe donโt know where it came from or what is in it.โ
The Hennessey Board of Trustees received an update on the situation at its regular meeting on Thursday, November 13th. Maly briefed the board, noting that he and many nearby residents oppose the proposed solid-waste site northeast of town.
Maly explained that two separate companies are involved: Sooner Solid Solutions, which has filed with the DEQ, and Centennial Solids Control LLC, which is tied to the commercial pit site. The town has joined landowners in protesting both efforts, including Centennialโs earlier application with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which has been delayed twice and is currently on hold with no hearing date set.
Maly said a formal request has been made for DEQ to hold an informational meeting in Hennessey so residents can hear directly from the agency.
โItโs not a time for a protest, itโs not time to try and convince them to do otherwise,โ Maly said. โThey are just going to explain their process and the timing and everything that goes on.โ
State Senator Chuck Hall, who could not attend the meeting, sent representative Grant Chaney to listen and report back. In an email, Hall said he began looking into the issue weeks ago after hearing concerns from local residents, adding that the community deserves clear information about what is being proposed and promising to help ensure people get the answers they need.
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