SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has delayed a decision on a proposal for a Sioux County disposal site for wastewater from oil exploration.

The commission heard 2½ hours of public comment Tuesday at its Sidney headquarters before convening a specific hearing on the proposal from Terex Energy Corp. The Broomfield, Colorado-based company wants to truck salty groundwater and fracking wastewater that result from oil searches and production in Wyoming, Colorado and, eventually, Nebraska, to a ranch north of Mitchell, Nebraska. The water would be injected into an old oil well on the ranch.

Critics of the proposal have cited possible threats to surface water and the Ogallala aquifer. Company officials deny the plan poses any threat to water resources.

The commission has 30 days to make its ruling.