Regulators from across the country met in Vermont this week at the Environmental Council of the State’s (ECOS) fall meeting to discuss some of the nation’s most pressing environmental challenges. I joined members of ECOS’ Shale Gas Caucus to discuss an emerging threat imminently impacting oil and gas-producing states: the question of what to do with the massive amount of wastewater produced by the oil and gas industry each year.
Energy Exchange
State leaders concerned about safety of reusing oil and gas wastewater
Posted in California, Colorado, General, Natural Gas, Ohio, produced water, State, Texas, Wyoming Tagged New Mexico, Pennsylvania, produced water, Water Comments are closed
Why drinking water standards are the wrong standards for oil and gas wastewater
“It’s so clean I’d drink it.”
Travel to any recent conference or trade show on produced water management and there’s a good chance you’ll hear this line or something similar. I’ve heard it myself, alongside claims that a patented treatment delivers water that’s “fresh” or “meets drinking water standards.”
This sort of talk is on the rise as operators and regulators look for ways to reuse produced water both inside and outside of the oilfield. Some of these uses carry real risks to human health and the environment from chemicals that may be present—even after treatment. At first blush, if the product can be called “fresh” or meets drinking water standards, it doesn’t sound risky. So why the worry? The reality is that these statements tell us very little about the quality of treated produced water.
“Fresh” from a scientific perspective, means next to nothing. And drinking water standards are simply the wrong standards to apply to produced water, or for that matter any treated wastewater – industrial or municipal. Here’s why.
Getting dangerously creative with oil and gas wastewater
Look before you leap – why learning more about oilfield wastewater is critical to reducing health and safety risks.
The oil and gas industry has a massive wastewater problem. And if the growing dialogue about new ways of dealing with it are any indication, it may get worse if we aren’t careful.
Cost concerns, pressure to conserve water, and other factors have led some oil and gas companies to consider new ways to manage or repurpose wastewater – including using it to irrigate crops. That could create more problems than it solves.
Managing the massive amount of oil and gas wastewater has been a challenge for energy companies for generations. Some wells produce up to 10 times more wastewater than oil. In the United States, companies produce nearly 900 billion gallons of wastewater a year. That’s enough to fill over 1,000 football stadiums.
Ongoing Risks
Oil and gas wastewater is often many times saltier than sea water – and can ruin soil for generations if large amounts spill or leak during storage or transport. In fact, landowners with a long history of oil and gas production on their lands know that a wastewater spill can cause much more long term damage to their land than an oil spill. Read More
Report identifies ways to reduce water contamination from oil and gas development in Texas
A new report from the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST) is shedding more light on what we know and don’t know about the potential health and environmental impacts caused by oil and gas development in Texas.
The report, the first of-its-kind authored by experts across the state, looks at all areas of concern related to oil and gas – including seismicity, air pollution, land and traffic issues – but TAMEST’s observations about the risks to water are especially noteworthy.
Why 10,000 Spills From Oil and Gas Development Can’t Be Ignored
The “Texon Scar”
A massive release of produced water from an oil well in West Texas caused a vegetative dead zone that can be seen from space.
Oil and gas development produces massive amounts of air and water pollution that can have severe impacts on our communities and ecosystems. And data in a recent investigative article could help us understand more about where and how much oil, wastewater, and other fluids are spilled across the country.
According to an EnergyWire article by Pamela King and Mike Soraghan, in 2015 industry reported more than 10,000 cases of spills across the country. That amounts to 42 million gallons of harmful fluids – 12 million gallons more than previously reported.
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Posted in Natural Gas, produced water, Texas Tagged oil and gas, oil spills, produced water, Water Comments are closed
What EPA Should Consider on Their Final “Fracking” Assessment
Questions about if and how hydraulic fracturing activities (or “fracking” to some) can contaminate drinking water have been top-of-mind for many since the practice started getting widespread public attention about a decade ago. Recognizing the validity of those concerns, EPA undertook a study to see how the full ‘hydraulic fracturing water cycle’ – which includes water withdrawals, chemical use and mixing, well injection, waste water management and disposal — could potentially impact our drinking water resources. In a EPA draft assessment released last fall, the agency summarized its results, saying researchers “did not find evidence that [fracking] mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources.”
EPA’s draft assessment synthesized valuable information and explored a number of key areas of concern. But EDF didn’t agree with the way EPA summarized its findings. And it turns out, after hearing from EDF and other experts across the country, neither do EPA’s advising scientists.
Now, through ongoing review by the Science Advisory Board, the agency is getting feedback, yet again, from dozens of concerned parties (including EDF) with vested interest in making sure EPA gets this assessment right. Here are three things to keep in mind.
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