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At the Dec. 15 Lee County Commissioners’ meeting, citizens spoke out again against what would be North Carolina’s first commercial natural gas well.
Citizens warned that Deep River Data’s proposed drilling and data center operation along the Deep River could contaminate groundwater, pollute the air, and replicate environmental disasters they’ve witnessed in Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.
Data centers, though not manufacturers, handle hazardous materials through water-treatment chemicals, diesel for backup generators, and lithium-ion battery systems. Wastewater from these facilities can contain solvents, heavy metals, fluorides, nanoparticles, and PFAS, all of which require strict environmental controls.
More than two dozen people have spoken against the project at Sanford City Council and Lee County Board of Commissioners meetings since mid-November.
The room filled with opponents of the fracking and data center proposal, who listened intently.
“We may not be able to do each one of your ideas, but we will come together as best as a board as we possibly can for each and every one of the citizens of this county,” Commissioner Mark Lovick said.
The Project and Its History
Deep River Data is considering drilling Butler Well No. 3 along the Lee-Chatham county line. Originally drilled in 1998 by oil and gas prospectors, Butler never produced commercially. In 2009, the North Carolina Geological Survey described the Triassic Sanford sub-basin as having unexplored “unconventional organic shale resources.”
The well is located on mineral rights owned by Dan Butler, whose grandfather supervised the Coal Glen Mine in Chatham County when it exploded in 1925, killing 53 men.
Deep River Data representative Daniel J. Spuller told Inside Climate News in November that the company is evaluating conventional drilling methods. “It remains in a pre-feasibility phase—we are still evaluating whether development is even viable. Nothing has been approved, permitted or built,” Spuller said.
However, residents at public meetings have expressed skepticism about the distinction between conventional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, citing contamination from both methods in other states.
Opposition Builds Across Three Meetings
Five Lee County residents and two environmental advocates first addressed county commissioners on Nov. 17, requesting renewed moratoriums on fracking and drilling.
Lee County’s previous two-year moratoria, enacted in 2017 and 2019, have expired.
On Dec. 4, eight residents spoke against the project at the Sanford City Council following the swearing-in of Mayor Rebecca Wyhof Salmon, who has served on the North Carolina Oil and Gas Commission since 2018.
Speakers included two residents from Sanford in Harnett County, one from Pittsboro representing Chatham County concerns, and environmental advocate Steph Gans of Clean Water for NC and Stephanie Stephens, Deep River Riverkeeper.
Matthew Clark, an archaeologist with the US Forest Service who recently moved to Sanford, described witnessing the effects of fracking in Pennsylvania at the city council meeting.
“I have seen the rivers there turn orange…they are polluted seven ways to oblivion,” Clark said. He noted that newly created faults in Pennsylvania now experience seismic activity due to fracking and called for a National Historic Preservation Act survey to assess potential damage to cultural and historical sites.
Sam Kaufman, originally from Oklahoma, described his home state’s experience: “It was basically, ‘drill, drill, drill.’ I’ve seen the wells. I’ve seen the fracking…It’s not worth it. You’ll kind of end up in like an Erin Brockovich-type situation where pollution is inevitable,” he said, referring to the 2000-year film about a California community whose water was contaminated by a utility company. “It’s not if, it’s when.”
Keely Puricz, a Deep River advocate who in 2015 successfully sued to block North Carolina fracking permits, told the council: “My uncles were dairy farmers in Pennsylvania. Their farms are contaminated by fracking.” She noted that Pennsylvania recently issued over $3 million in fines to oil and gas companies for contamination at a Pittsburgh petroleum facility.
“The risk of using an antique well…in itself is frightening,” Puricz said of Butler Well No. 3. “This well has not had regular inspections from the DEQ.” She noted that at the Nov. 5 Oil and Gas Commission meeting, “the DEQ admitted they only have one employee to review the rules, versus the four or five that they had 10 years ago.” Puricz implored the council to enact a two-year moratorium on fracking and data center permits.
At the commissioners’ final meeting of the year on Monday, Dec 15, a dozen speakers voiced opposition, more than double the Nov. 17 turnout.
Debbie Hall, an environmentalist with Clean Water for NC and granddaughter of a mine worker whose brother died in the 1925 Coal Glen explosion, told commissioners: “Even though there has been no application filed yet, you know, and we all know that the wheels are turning. A recent article stated that those interested in opening Butler No. 3 were working to present an application that was complete upon submission. So, they’re working, and somebody’s helping them.”
Jennifer Garner, a Sanford business owner, warned commissioners: “It seems like a gross, counterproductive measure to put all the growth and development into our city, the incredible work that you’ve done, just to destroy it. Just to open the literal floodgates of contamination that would come from fracking. Just ask the people of Pennsylvania.”
Her warning echoed Clark’s testimony, who also spoke at the commissioner meeting about witnessing Pennsylvania’s rivers turning colors as an archaeologist.
Following the Dec. 15 meeting, Commissioner Samantha Martin thanked Randy Nixon and Lara Bloch, Durham residents new to the county who opposed the proposal, for speaking.
Legal and Regulatory Landscape
No formal applications have been submitted to the NC Oil and Gas Commission.
Under state law, drilling permits require approval only from the commission and state DEQ; local governments have no formal authority to approve or deny drilling operations. However, Lee County could enact a third moratorium before any drilling is approved.
Puricz’s 2015 lawsuit, combined with the NC Supreme Court’s ruling in McCrory v. Berger that the Oil and Gas Commission was unconstitutionally formed, effectively halted all drilling in North Carolina. This moratorium technically remains despite the commission’s reconstitution. If approved, this would be North Carolina’s first commercial gas well in the Triassic Basin.
What’s Next
As the debate intensifies, residents say they’re prepared to continue showing up at public meetings.
“Houses are being built more quickly than I could imagine possible,” Hall told commissioners. “You are the people who can help us. You can enact a moratorium on drilling, fracking and data centers, if you will. You are the people who can really make a difference for the people of Lee County. For our future, our children’s future, and we’re asking you to do that.”
“We may not be able to do each one of your ideas, but we will come together as best as a board as we possibly can for each and every one of the citizens of this county,” Commissioner Mark Lovick said. “Your comments, they were heard, they were listened to.”
The Lee County Board of Commissioners will meet next on Jan. 5, 2026, at 6 p.m. at the Ruby McSwain Center.
Dec. 16, 2025
Diara J. Townes
Engagement Journalist
Diara is an award-winning journalist covering environment, government & business, with a focus on marginalized communities and local stories
References
Microsoft PowerPoint – AASG Eastern 2009 fact sheet_20090709.ppt
The History of the Coal Glen Mine Accident Lives On
Lee County residents urge halt to FRACKING as crypto-linked company eyes gas well – SANDHILLS NEWS
Oil and Gas Commission Members | NC DEQ
Steph Gans – Clean Water for North Carolina
Our Team — Deep River Riverkeeper
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/archeology/national-historic-preservation-act.htm
Allegheny_Cold_Storage_Site_Consent_Order_Executed_Final_11-24-2025.pdf
Under court settlement, no coal ash for Colon mine in Lee County • NC Newsline
Deep River Data Project | DocumentCloud
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