TERRE HAUTE, Ind., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Indiana State University has received consent to explore, and possibly drill for, oil on the eastern edge of its Terre Haute campus.
The city's Board of Zoning Appeals granted a special use permit to the school Wednesday for mineral extraction on a former industrial site, within city limits and owned by the school, the Terre Haute Tribune-Star reported Friday.
The oil exploration firm Pioneer Oil will seek oil on the property, pending a state permit, and if it determines enough oil exists to encourage drilling, any pumps would be installed below ground and any gases would be burned in an incinerator to prevent escaping odors, an official said.
Downtown Terre Haute has been the site of numerous oil discoveries in the past, including an episode known as the "Oil Craze of 1889," the newspaper said.