SANGER — Glenn Goode thought he found a good investment when he bought 30 acres of prime commercial land along Interstate 35 at Rector Road.

The longtime Gainesville resident knew there was an old oil well on the land. Drilled in a field along with more than a dozen other wells more than 30 years ago, the well was no longer producing. A tank battery remained at the site, but Goode thought the well could be plugged, the battery dismantled, and the area cleaned up and put to better use.

DRC/Al Key

Glenn Goode on Wednesday, Feb. 6, stands in front of an old oil well located on the 30 acres of property he purchased along Interstate 35 at Rector Road. Goode said he lost a commercial development prospect for the parcel because of renewed interest in the lease by Chaparral Natural Resources.

That was two years ago.

The old well has not been plugged; in fact, the energy company that acquired the lease has recently applied with the Texas Railroad Commission to operate an injection well at the site instead.

Chaparral Natural Resources backtracked on plans to plug and abandon the well, the fate of many wells around it. In a new application to the railroad commission, the company has stated it does not intend to operate a commercial disposal well, injecting waste from area gas wells. But the energy company will inject salt water produced at its other oil and gas wells about 1,900 feet below the surface. Operated in this way, the injected saltwater could boost production at the handful of oil wells still producing nearby. Texas has more than 50,000 permitted injection wells, about half of which are used to boost production.

Goode said he lost a commercial development prospect for the parcel because of the energy company’s renewed interest in the lease. George Jeter, of Chenault Properties, confirmed that he tried for more than a year to make the deal happen.

“We lost a lease worth more than $3 million because of the environmental problems,” Jeter said.

Reached by phone, Chaparral spokesman Ben Campbell declined to comment on the situation.

Goode fears the injection well, if approved, will hurt the land even more. He points to the cockleburs, thistles and other thorny plants growing in the field around the old well site and maintains that the company has been a poor steward of the environment up until now.

“They just do what they want to with your land,” Goode said.

After Goode complained to Texas Railroad Commission inspectors last spring, an April 6, 2007, inspection found three violations of rules meant to protect soil, water and wildlife. Oil, production water and salts leaked out of an eroded firewall and contaminated more than 1,100 square feet of Goode’s land. Inspectors found additional contamination on the tank battery site. The tanks themselves had rusted through, presenting a hazard to birds and other wildlife.

In a letter to Jeter’s lawyer that same day, Chaparral Vice President Michael Peays said the company needed 40 days of production to get enough oil to haul it all to market and make enough money for a cleanup.

Several subsequent re-inspections by railroad commission inspectors cited Chaparral for continuing violations of the same rules, since the required repairs and cleanup were not made until summer.

Inspectors finally issued a clean status report to Chaparral in August 2007.

Chaparral submitted its application for an injection well in September.

Some of the cleanup extended beyond the ordered area, Goode said, pointing out several areas around his land where workers scattered more oily dirt and gravel.

“They’ve even got lines laying on top of the ground,” Goode said.

Several hundred feet of abandoned oil field pipe has yet to be removed from both on and off the tank battery pad.

He also points to spots where the rusty tanks, which were never cut up and removed, are still leaking.

Goode protested the company’s plans for an injection well at a commission meeting in January.

Because his environmental concerns are limited to his property, he’s been on his own, Goode said. Jeter said he lost too much money on the deal to help. As a result, Goode doubts his complaint holds any weight at all with the railroad commission.

He expects the commission to approve the injection well application within the next month.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .