Broadcaster Press 7 May 24, 2016 www.broadcasteronline.com Gamble On Wasta Oil Well Project Leaves State With Deep, Costly Hole BY BOB MERCER State Capitol Bureau PIERRE – An attempt three years ago to drill an oil well 9,700 feet deep, through multiple water aquifers and a highly dense layer of pre-Cambrian rock, near Wasta ended very badly. The drill bit broke partway down after going through several aquifers. The bit and a long length of drill pipe are still in the hole. Cement plugs to protect the aquifers from each other can’t be installed. The broken bit and pipe block the way. Worse yet, the project’s developers ran out of money. Now South Dakota officials don’t know what to do next. The state Board of Minerals and Environment approved permits for two wells at the site in March 2013. The board and its professional staff at the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources knew the project was iffy. They required the developers, led by a woman from Deadwood named Natali Ormiston, to post a bond of $130,000 for the first well. Normally the board requires a bond of only $20,000 for an oil well. The $130,000 is deposited in a Pierre bank. So far DENR officials haven’t sought to cash the bond. It’s not even close to enough money to plug the well, according to Mike Lees, an environmental scientist for DENR The cost would be $2 million, he said, because of the broken bit and the 150 feet of drill pipe that remain in the hole about a mile into the earth. Lees said multi-direction drilling would be needed to get around them. The concern is that one of the aquifers that’s been punctured, known as the Minnelusa, could flow upward into an- 1320 Education AIRLINE CAREERS. Get FAA approved maintenance training at campuses coast to coast. Job placement assistance. Financial Aid for qualifying students. Military friendly. Call AIM 888-686-1704 nani MEDICAL BILLING SPECIALISTS NEEDED! Begin training at home for a career working with Medical Billing & Insurance! Online training with the right College can get you ready! HS Diploma/GED & Computer/Internet needed. 1-888-734-6711. nani 1333 Sales Delivery/Warehouse Person Needed. Full-time or part-time. Apply in person at Yankton Sears, 2901 Broadway. 1335 other punctured aquifer, known as the Inyan Kara, through artesian pressure. The top of the Minnelusa aquifer is about 3,900 feet below the earth at that location and about 800 feet below the bottom of the Inyan Kara aquifer. Lees said a plugging project would need to reach 3,300 to 3,800 feet. The permit requirements called for cement plugs at specific depths to protect seven aquifer-bearing formations. Meanwhile several creditors want DENR to release the bond money to them. The minerals board members decided Thursday they’ll talk about the situation again at their June meeting. “We’re snookered right now,” said board member Doyle Karpen of Jefferson. “I don’t see any magic trick coming.” The state permits were issued to Quartz Operations, a limited liability company formed by Ormiston in November 2012. After receiving the permits, the company changed hands quickly. The role of registered agent transferred from Ormiston to Leon Somsen of Yankton on June 5, 2013, then from Somsen to Mark Eske of Sioux Falls on Nov. 8, 2013. A second company started by Ormiston, called Quartz Oil Exploration LLC, also changed hands during the same period. She transferred the role of registered agent for the second company to Somsen on June 5, 2013. More than a year later, on Sept. 11, 2014, more activity involving Quartz Oil Exploration ensued. A Somsen-created company called South Dakota Quantum Fund LLC filed notice of disassociation from Quartz Oil Exploration. The same day in 2011 three men including Somsen filed notices of disassociation Quartz Oil Exploration. Ormiston in turn transferred the role Other Employment Yankton Wireless is looking for an outgoing, self-starter to join our team. Job requirements include: Ability to climb ladders and work on rooftops, as well as prior technical experience with computers, CAT 5 wiring, routers and wireless. If you have a clean driving record, good work ethic and are comfortable with power tools and light construction, apply today by contacting Lance at l.corbit@yankton-wireless.com or 605-760-9764. of registered agent five days later on Sept. 16, 2014, to a Pierre legal firm, CT Corporation System. Just who’s in charge isn’t clear. Lees said Thursday he’s talked recently with Somsen. Lees said Somsen told him there aren’t any plans to try to plug the well. Whether the open hole poses a threat to water quality isn’t certain. Lees said approximately 1,000 cubic feet of Inyan Kara water could be affected by Minnelusa water. He said the Inyan Kara aquifer is popular for domestic wells but the nearest is six miles. The community of Wall, twelve miles away, taps Inyan Kara as its supply. Several of the state board members are lawyers. One, Bob Morris of Belle Fourche, cautioned against taking action yet. “I think this needs to stay on our radar,” Morris said. Another, Rex Hagg of Rapid City, wasn’t ready to pursue the $130,000 bond yet either. Hagg asked for the state Office of Attorney General to bring legal advice next month to the board. Said Lees, “It’s sort of uncharted territory.” Read and Recycle! USD Truman Scholar Hopes to Shape Public Policy Through Science Joshua Arens grew up on a farm just north of Yankton, South Dakota, where his family raised cattle, corn, beans and alfalfa. And, like many a Midwestern farm boy, “I had my share of chores,” he said. In part to avoid a future of manual labor on the farm, Arens decided to major in chemistry -- and aim for an eventual job in a laboratory or an office -- when he enrolled at the University of South Dakota three years ago. He hasn’t completely strayed from his agricultural roots, however, as Arens’ research interests focus on the effects of climate change on agricultural communities worldwide. His academic success and leadership accomplishments have earned him a 2016 Harry S. Truman Scholarship, which provides up to $30,000 for graduate study. Arens is one of only 54 college juniors nationwide who were named Truman scholars this year out of a pool of 775 candidates nominated by 305 colleges and universities. The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to our thirty-third president. The foundation awards scholarships for college students to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or elsewhere in public service. An honors student, Arens also has a second major in math and will start his senior year in the fall. This summer, he will perform research at the University of California Berkeley Center for Sustainable Polymers. On previous summer breaks, Arens held an internship at the Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry at Oregon State University and spent more than a month at the University of Exeter through the US-UK Fulbright Summer Institute. Traveling to these summer positions helps Arens gain experience on different research projects but also helps satisfy his wanderlust. “Because of my chemistry courses, I’m not really able to travel abroad during the school year,” he said. “And, otherwise, I’m not sure what else I would be doing with my summers.” On campus, Arens works in the chemistry lab of associate professor Hoaran Sun, developing novel fluorinated compounds that have applications in solar cells, batteries and various sustainable technologies. This research makes up the backbone of his honors thesis. Capitalizing on his interest in and knowledge of politics -- he has also interned in the Sioux Falls office of former U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson -- Arens said he hopes to use his scientific training to inform policy decisions while working at a public policy institute or a non-governmental organization. “I want to be able to understand the research behind all the important issues that affect the environment and agriculture and try to translate that to those in the public sphere and in politics,” he said. “You see a lot of politicians these days that don’t have any idea about what they’re talking about when it comes to science. 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This position will serve as the organization’s principal leader and representative to the greater Yankton community as well as offer staff and operations management and program development. The qualified candidate will be responsible for grant writing and grant management to secure financial support, will actively participate in cultivating donors, developing contacts, face-to-face solicitations, events, public speaking and will understand and respect the needs of program participants. In addition, this position requires working directly with the clients and case management. Bachelor’s degree and related experience required. The Yankton Area Homeless Shelter offers a team oriented work environment with competitive compensation; benefits available. Successful applicant must pass pre-employment screening including criminal record check. 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