For Immediate Release:   Thursday, June 27, 2002  Contact:  Erin Rogers 512.477.1729 or 512.663.4008

Austin, TX—Documents obtained today by the Sierra Club show that BNP Petroleum has abandoned radioactive materials at an oil and gas well site on Padre Island. In a February letter from BNP to the Texas Railroad Commission, BNP reported that it had lost a well-logging tool with 16 curies of radioactive americium and beryllium in a well hole for the Dunn-McCampbell well. The radioactive isotopes in the hole will remain radioactive for over 4,000 years.

"We're shocked to learn that BNP's early attempts to drill for oil and gas resulted in the creation of a radioactive waste site on the Island," said Erin Rogers of the Lone Star Chapter, pointing out that BNP is conducting similar operations nearby on Padre Island National Seashore.". "Meanwhile, the Park Service stands poised to approve an aggressive campaign of oil and gas development by BNP where it least belongs—in pristine, treasured spots like Padre Island National Seashore."

Documents obtained by the Sierra Club show that on February 4, 2002 BNP sent a letter to the Texas Railroad Commission requesting permission to abandon the americium/beryllium tool 10,565 feet down in the well hole and cover it with a 100-foot red dyed cement plug. BNP also requested that they be allowed to drill a second well 15 feet away from the radioactive tool down to a depth of 12,000 feet. The abandoned tool was being used to determine the density of the ground surrounding the hole through gamma radiation. BNP also reported the incident to the Texas Bureau of Radiation Control (BRC). BRC’s February 6th inspection report states that "potential exists for other stuck tools under similar geologic conditions."

BNP's waste disposal company, Tom Gill Services, already had a record of numerous violations and warnings from the Texas Railroad Commission when BNP began drilling on the island in early 2002. Tom Gill Services, (co-owned by Paul Black, who is also the co-owner of BNP Petroleum) received numerous violations from the Railroad Commission between 1995 and 2001 for dumping unauthorized oil waste at its site in Hidalgo County and failing to provide soil samples for reportedly contaminated soil.

The National Park Service has granted BNP permission to drill an oil and gas well on Padre Island National Seashore, and is currently considering BNP's application to drill a second well on the Seashore. BNP has announced plans for an "aggressive" drilling campaign on Padre Island National Seashore. The Park Service received comments from over 1,200 people opposed to drilling on the seashore. The Sierra Club has filed a lawsuit challenging oil and gas drilling on Padre Island National Seashore, contending that the Park Service hasn't adequately analyzed or disclosed the impacts of oil and gas development.

"No one has bothered to tell the public about this until now," said Rogers. "This is just further reason for the Park Service to do what it should have done in the first place: take a hard look at the impacts of oil and gas development on the Seashore, and stand up to oil companies with sloppy environmental management practices. At the very least, the Park Service should consider the option of buying out the mineral rights under the park to stop all future drilling."