The Eddy County Commission held a special closed meeting Monday in which commissioners voted to rescind a decision made Tuesday, Dec. 15, to share legal costs with the City of Carlsbad in a possible brine well collapse.

Carlsbad last week requested $15,000 from the county to share in the initial cost of hiring Pete Domenici Jr. to address any legal issues related to the potential collapse of a brine well, or cavern, on the south end of the city. The well is located under oil field service company I&W Inc. property, located within the city of Carlsbad, between U.S. 285 and U.S. 180/62, where those highways meet at a “Y”-shaped intersection.

Although some commissioners initially questioned whether securing an attorney would be necessary, Commissioner Guy Lutman Wednesday, Dec. 16, told KSVP radio, “Nevertheless, we honored the city’s request (for funding).” Lutman explained he was not certain how the city or county could be held responsible in the event of a collapse.

During the meeting Monday, Lutman, Commission Chairman Lewis Derrick and Tony Hernandez voted to rescind last week’s vote, while commissioners Jack Volpato and Roxanne Lara chose to stick with their original vote to go in with the city on the matter.

Although the county plans to find another means of protecting itself legally, said Derrick, it still will work collaboratively with the city to upgrade monitoring equipment at the site. The city and county each will pitch in $35,000 for the purchase of a three-dimensional monitoring system to replace the current two-dimensional system.

According to County Manager Allen Sartin, additional testing still must be completed to determine the size and shape of the cavern before a plan of action can be put into place.

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