{"id":19982,"date":"2020-03-11T09:52:22","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T13:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=19982"},"modified":"2020-07-01T10:55:45","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T14:55:45","slug":"if-were-not-careful-epas-new-water-reuse-plan-could-lead-to-more-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2020\/03\/11\/if-were-not-careful-epas-new-water-reuse-plan-could-lead-to-more-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"If we\u2019re not careful, EPA\u2019s new water reuse plan could lead to more pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency released details of a new plan that aims to address concerns about future water shortages. The Water Reuse Action Plan<\/a> suggests that by recycling and reusing more wastewater, we can \u201cimprove the availability of freshwater\u201d and avoid a water access crisis.<\/p>\n

There are certainly a number of opportunities we can and should seize to make better use of our water resources, but the plan leaves out a lot of crucially important details that must be a part of any truly sustainable water plan.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest concerns EDF has is how the plan frames (or, more specifically doesn\u2019t frame) important issues with reusing the oil and gas industry\u2019s wastewater.<\/p>\n

Oil and gas wastewater is extremely complicated. It\u2019s very salty and it can contain radioactive chemicals from deep underground, toxic substances used in the drilling process, and a slew of other concerning pollutants. What\u2019s in the water varies from day-to-day, well site-to-well site and state-to-state, which makes it even more difficult to set any kind of safety standard for how to treat it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To reduce the amount of freshwater needed to hydraulically fracture a new well, some companies have taken to reusing their own wastewater. That\u2019s a good thing. But EPA\u2019s plan suggests we should expand reuse \u2014 that it can be a near-term reality to treat wastewater and use it for irrigation, aquifer recharge and other purposes beyond the oilfield. And that is extremely problematic.<\/p>\n

There are known unknowns<\/strong><\/p>\n

Based on what we know about the chemicals used by oil and gas companies, the natural ones that already exist underground, and how those two can interact \u2014 there are upwards of 2,000 different substances that could exist in any random sampling of oilfield wastewater. And we have very little understanding of the toxicity of these chemicals<\/a> or how to monitor for them in the environment.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, EPA\u2019s plan downplays that stark reality, describing concerns about unknowns as a \u201cspectrum of perspectives\u201d on the issue rather than fact, and including only one emerging state study as a sole action to address knowledge gaps.<\/p>\nIf we\u2019re not careful, EPA\u2019s new water reuse plan could lead to more pollution <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

Downplaying these very real challenges is extremely dangerous because if EPA ignores them and instead signals to cities, farmers, communities and others that it\u2019s time to consider reusing a waste stream we don\u2019t fully understand \u2014 that could create a heck of a lot more problems than it solves.<\/p>\n

Others have been studying the potential to reuse other wastewater, like municipal effluent, for decades and are still working to identify and manage risks. In contrast, the research on oilfield wastewater is much less evolved. EPA must acknowledge that our study of oil and gas wastewater, in this context, lags behind these other reuse scenarios. We need to recognize the huge data gaps that need to be filled before we encourage expanding reuse of this waste stream.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The timing for all of this report matters. In the coming weeks, EPA is also expected to release a study about the management of the oil and gas industry\u2019s wastewater in the context of the Clean Water Act. Specifically, the agency will address whether there is support to change federal rules to allow for broader discharge of treated wastewater into rivers, streams and other waterways.<\/p>\n

Stakeholder input in EPA\u2019s original draft was mixed. Many emphasized concerns about science and regulatory gaps. It will be important to watch what EPA says and does with the release of its final assessment.<\/p>\n

If not managed properly, these two actions could send a risky signal that we\u2019re ready now to bring more oilfield wastewater to more places and treat it for more uses, and that couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. Until we know more, it would be a mistake to look to oilfield wastewater as a reliable solution to water scarcity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency released details of a new plan that aims to address concerns about future water shortages. The Water Reuse Action Plan suggests that by recycling and reusing more wastewater, we can \u201cimprove the availability of freshwater\u201d and avoid a water access crisis. There are certainly a number of opportunities we …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69512,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[693],"tags":[100168,663],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-19982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-natural-gas","tag-produced-water","tag-water"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIf we\u2019re not careful, EPA\u2019s new water reuse plan could lead to more pollution - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2020\/03\/11\/if-were-not-careful-epas-new-water-reuse-plan-could-lead-to-more-pollution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If we\u2019re not careful, EPA\u2019s new water reuse plan could lead to more pollution - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency released details of a new plan that aims to address concerns about future water shortages. 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