New group of Enid city commissioners will vote to approve landfill methane remediation plan
May 2—ENID, Ok. — The city is set to approve a private agreement to install a new methane collection system at Enid's landfill and then sell the leftover gas.
City commissioners will vote on a 25-year-minimum deal with Scissortail Renewables LLC during Monday's commission meeting, with an option to extend it for two five-year periods.
At no cost to the city of Enid, Scissortail would install, operate and maintain a system that would ideally reduce the landfill's methane emissions, which have risen beyond state compliance in the last two years.
About $2 million to install, the collection system facilities and equipment would sit on about 7,000 square feet of property at the northeast corner of the landfill and would connect to two OneOK transmission lines to the north and south. It would include 51 extraction wells in a collection well field on the landfill.
A unit would "suck out" methane-heavy gas, clean it, then release harmless portions to meet the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality's 5%-7% required air concentration levels of methane (the chemical compound CH4).
After capturing and processing the gases, Scissortail would then sell the gas to OneOK and pay the city of Enid 25% of the sales as monthly rent, due on the 15th day of each month.
Representatives from affiliated Sparq Natural Gas previously said this sales percentage would've come to over $100,000 in 2020 based on a natural gas price on a dollar index of $2.539.
Rental payments would start three months after the project is placed in service, which must be completed no later than two years after the city commission approves the deal. Construction was previously estimated to last around this long.
Minimum rent to the city would come to $1,000 if the percentage rent is less than $1,000. If rent isn't paid within 30 days, 5% late charges on rent payments would be added to the overdue amount.
Landfill manager Tim Stephens previously praised the idea, saying the remediation-sale process has become common around the state.
"It's kind of a win-win thing for us," Stephens said of the deal in December. "I definitely think we're turning lemons into lemonade. Especially when we're looking at something that was going to cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars to remediate."
The commission will meet in the Stride Bank Center to approve the agreement at 6:30 p.m. Monday, a day earlier than normal because new commissioners will first be sworn in. This must be done on the first Monday of May, according to Enid's city charter.
Ward 3's Keith Siragusa and Ward 4's Whitney Roberts were elected to the commission in February and will replace outgoing commissioners Ben Ezzell and Jonathan Waddell, respectively.
Their colleague, Ward 6's Scott Orr, was also elected Feb. 9 but took office last month.
The new commission will also conduct nearly half a dozen public property hearings Monday, including hearings over renaming two portions of road after two pilots from Vance Air Force Base who died in a plane crash in late 2019.
Commissioners will hear public input on renaming Gott Road, from Southgate Road to Vance's main gate, to Kincade Road; and South Cleveland, from Southgate to Vance's Baker/Industrial/Commercial gate, to Wilkie Way.
No addresses would need to be changed on Kincade Road, but properties would be affected on 3729 S. Cleveland and 3811 S. Cleveland.
They will then vote for the name changes at the next meeting on May 18.
Commissioners will also hear the city of Enid's 2021-2022 fiscal year budget plan during a prior study session at 5 p.m. Monday in the event center.
Ewald is copy editor and city/education reporter for the Enid News & Eagle.
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