PA Environment Digest Blog: Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Continued To Illegally Road Dump Over 580,000 Gallons Of Drilling Wastewater In 2021

Conventional oil and gas operators just filed annual reports with DEP documenting their disposal of over 580,000 gallons of drilling wastewater by dumping it on dirt and gravel roads during 2021, according to DEP’s Oil & Gas Waste Reporting Database.

Conventional wastewater was illegally dumped indiscriminately on roads in 24 townships located in 7 Pennsylvania counties, and one county in New York state.

Just two townships alone served as a dumping ground for over 290,304 gallons of the 580,000 gallons of wastewater--

-- Crawford County, Wayne Twp. - 140,112 gallons

-- Venango County, Richland Twp. - 150,192 gallons.

The counties where road dumping was reported included-- Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, McKean, Mercer, Venango, Warren and Chautauqua, NY.

The 2021 reports bring the total amount of reported conventional drilling wastewater illegally road dumped to nearly 2.9 million gallons from 2018 to 2021. Read more here.

The 2021 data reported to DEP shows 18 companies were involved in road dumping, one more than in 2020.

The amount of conventional drilling wastewater road dumped is almost certainly much, much more than is being reported to DEP by operators.

The Better Path Coalition released a report in December that highlighted the significant problems with DEP’s oil and gas waste reporting database that is supposed to track how much conventional and unconventional oil and gas waste is disposed of, including the fact it has never been the subject of a comprehensive audit. Read more here.

In December, DEP notified conventional drilling operators they identified as being involved in road dumping in 2020 that they have not met the requirements of DEP’s Residual Waste Regulations. Read more here.

DEP was not aware of the 2021 waste data because it was only submitted by conventional operators annually.

Road Dumping Continues This Year

Eyewitnesses report indiscriminate road dumping of conventional oil and gas wastewater continues in 2022.

While road dumping typically occurs on dirt and gravel roads, there were reports again last week of road dumping occurring on State Route 6 in Warren County and other paved roads on a clear day.

Operators who say it is not happening are simply wrong.

Typical Road Dumping

The typical road dumping of oil and gas wastewater on dirt roads involves a vac truck making three or more passes on each section of road using a combination of an open value on the back of the truck and then a blanket pass with a homemade spreader bar that offers no control on the amount of brine spread.

There are no state standards restricting the amount of wastewater that can be dumped on roads, no setbacks from streams or wetlands to avoid contamination and no requirements for testing the wastewater before it is disposed of in this way. Read more here.

See Photos Here - Read more here. See Photos Here - Read more here.

Just Plain Water Controls Dust

The justification for road dumping oil and gas wastewater is that it is an effective dust suppressant, however, recent studies have demonstrated it actually is not-- it actually damages dirt and gravel roads [Read more here]-- just plain water is effective as a dust suppressant without the environmental and health risks.

Experts from the Penn State Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies call the road dumping of oil and gas wastewater an “environmentally unsound practice” that can cause water pollution and even damage roads. Read more here.

“A lot of the brines in Pennsylvania have high sodium so they tend not to be as effective,” said Eric Chase. “Any liquid you put on the roads is going to suppress dust for a little while, right? But, the fact of the matter is the high sodium brines are just not very effective.”

“Yea, it does suppress dust, but so would plain water for a while without all the potential side effects,” said Steve Bloser.

Road Dumping Threats Health, Environment

A growing body of research by Penn State University and others is finding conventional oil and gas drilling wastewater being dumped indiscriminately on Pennsylvania’s dirt and gravel roads every year is a threat to the environment and human health.

Major studies reported in peer-reviewed journal articles have concluded spreading wastewater from conventional oil and gas drilling on dirt and gravel roads can harm aquatic life, poses health risks to humans and damages the roads. Read more here.

Preliminary results from a new Penn State research study by a team led by Dr. Nathaniel Warner found road dumping of conventional oil and gas drilling wastewater results in increased cancer risks for people living along those roads, especially children. Read more here.

The study found increased cancer risk from arsenic, lead and nickel in road dust contaminated by wastewater that is above the one in a million risk threshold.

According to these studies, conventional wastewater contains harmful contaminants like lead, radioactive radium, bromine, barium, radioactive strontium, chromium, cadmium, arsenic, copper, benzine, Diesel-Range organics and Gasoline-range organics. Read more here.

DEP is now reviewing another study by Penn State University’s Dr. William Burgos that evaluated over 40,000 sample results to determine the impact of road dumping on water quality that should be released soon.

Companies Road Dumping In 2021

A total of 17 companies reported to DEP they were spreading their wastewater on roads in 2020.

The 2021 data reported to DEP shows 18 companies were involved in road dumping.

Here’s the list from largest amounts to smallest. Also shown is where they dumped their wastewater--

-- Vista OPR, Inc. (Venango) - Wastewater - 206,976 gallons

-- Clairon - Ashland Twp - 11,928 gallons

-- Clarion - Beaver Twp - 7,602 gallons

-- Mercer - French Creek Twp -4,200 gallons

-- Mercer - New Vernon Twp - 22,470 gallons

-- Venango - Canal Twp - 19,404 gallons

-- Venango - Cranberry Twp - 4,200 gallons

-- Venango - Richland Twp - 137,172 gallons

-- Energy Resources of Amer Inc. (Mercer, Venango) - Wastewater - 99,960 gallons

-- Crawford - Randolph Twp - 6,720 gallons

-- Crawford - Union Twp - 10,164 gallons

-- Crawford - Vernon Twp - 1,680 gallons

-- Crawford - Wayne Twp - 79,506 gallons

-- Erie - Wayne Twp - 1,890 gallons

-- Tachoir Resources, Inc.. (Forest) - Waste - 44,352 gallons*

-- Forest - Kingsley Twp 31,710 gallons

-- Venango - Allegheny Twp - 12,642 gallons

-- DJR Well Services, Inc. (Mercer County) - Wastewater - 39,858 gallons

-- Crawford - Union Twp - 18,228 gallons

-- Crawford - Vernon Twp - 1,890 gallons

-- Crawford - Wayne Twp - 17,430 gallons

-- Erie - Wayne Twp - 2,310 gallons

-- Titusville Oil & Gas Assoc, Inc.. (Forest) - Wastewater - 38,136 gallons*

-- Forest - Harmony Twp - 38,136 gallons

-- JMG Energy LLC (Mercer, Venango) - Wastewater - 47,754 gallons

-- Crawford - Fairfield Twp 7,854 gallons

-- Crawford - Vernon Twp - 6,300 gallons

-- Crawford - Wayne Twp - 33,600 gallons

-- McComb Oil, Inc. (Mercer) - Wastewater - 19,656 gallons

-- Crawford - Randolph Twp. - 3,360 gallons

-- Crawford - Vernon Twp. - 6,720 gallons

-- Crawford - Wayne Twp. - 9,576 gallons

-- Millennium Oil & Gas (Mercer) - Wastewater - 13,608 gallons

-- Crawford - Athens Twp - 1,764 gallons

-- Crawford - Troy Twp - 9,114 gallons

-- Venango - Canal Twp - 2,730 gallons

-- Missing Moon Oil, Inc. (Warren) - Wastewater - 13,230 gallons

-- Crawford - Athens Twp - 5,880

-- Crawford - Richland Twp - 7,350 gallons

-- LHS Prod LLC (Butler) - Wastewater - 13,020 gallons

-- Mercer - New Vernon Twp - 4,410 gallons

-- Venango - Richland Twp - 8,610 gallons

-- Anderson Energy SVCS (Warren County) - Wastewater - 10,080 gallons*

-- Warren - Spring Creek Twp - 10,080 gallons

-- Howard Drilling, Inc. (Venango) - Wastewater - 8,820 gallons

-- Venango - Canal Twp - 4,410 gallons

-- Venango - Richland Twp - 4,410 gallons

-- Elder Oil & Gas Co. (Venango County) - Wastewater - 7,896 gallons

-- Clarion - Licking Twp - 5,460 gallons

-- Clarion - Richland Twp - 2,436 gallons

-- Fork Run Oil & Gas LLC. (McKean, Warren) - Wastewater - 7,014 gallons*

-- Warren - Spring Creek Twp - 7,014 gallons

-- SLT Production LLC (Warren) - Wastewater - 4,578 gallons*

-- Mercer - New Vernon Twp - 4,578 gallons

-- Stedman Energy Inc. (Erie) - Wastewater 3,360 gallons

-- Chautauqua, NY - North Haven - 3,360 gallons

-- Medina Res Dev Co LLC. (Crawford) - Wastewater - 1,176 gallons*

-- Erie - Amity Twp - 1,176 gallons

-- Crowley Oil Co., LLC. (McKean County) - Wastewater - 882 gallons*

-- McKean - Annin Twp - 882 gallons

*Companies not previously identified by DEP or Better Path Coalition as being involved in road dumping in 2018, 2019, 2020. Read more here.

Municipalities Serving As Dumping Grounds

Conventional drilling operators reported disposing of their wastewater on dirt and gravel roads in 24 townships located in 7 Pennsylvania counties.

Two township alone served as a dumping ground for over 290,304 gallons of the 580,000 gallons of drilling wastewater--

-- Crawford County, Wayne Twp. - 140,112 gallons

-- Venango County, Richland Twp. - 150,192 gallons

One operator also reported road dumping their drilling wastewater in one county in New York state.

DEP lists 84 townships in total as “waste facilities” where conventional oil and gas wastewater has been disposed of by road dumping. Read More Here.

This is a complete list of municipalities serving as road dumping grounds for disposing of conventional oil and gas drilling wastewater during 2021--

-- Clarion - Total Waste - 27,426 gallons

-- Ashland Twp - 11,928

-- Beaver Twp - 7,602

-- Licking Twp - 5,460

-- Richland Twp - 2,436*

-- Crawford - Total Waste - 227,136 gallons

-- Athens Twp - 7,644*

-- Fairfield Twp - 7,854*

-- Randolph Twp - 10,080*

-- Richland Twp - 7,350

-- Troy Twp - 9,114*

-- Union Twp - 28,392*

-- Vernon Twp - 16,590*

-- Wayne Twp - 140,112*

-- Erie - Total Waste - 5,376 gallons

-- Amity Twp - 1,176*

-- Wayne Twp - 4,200*

-- Forest - Total Waste - 69,846 gallons

-- Harmony Twp - 38,136*

-- Kingsley Twp - 31,710*

-- McKean - Total Waste - 882 gallons

-- Annin Twp - 882

-- Mercer - Total Waste - 35,658 gallons

-- French Creek Twp - 4,200*

-- New Vernon Twp - 31,458*

-- Venango - Total Waste - 193,578 gallons

-- Allegheny Twp - 12,642

-- Canal Twp - 26,544*

-- Cranberry Twp - 4,200*

-- Richland Twp - 150,192*

-- Warren - Total Waste - 17,094 gallons

-- Spring Creek Twp - 17,094*

-- Chautauqua, NY - Total Waste - 3,360

-- North Haven - 3,360

*Used as a road dumping ground over multiple years, according to conventional oil and gas operator waste reports. Read more here.

Click Here to download 2021 oil and gas operators waste reports as of April 20, 2022.

Reports on waste disposed by conventional and unconventional oil and gas operators can be found by visiting DEP’s Oil & Gas Waste Reporting Database webpage.

PA Environment Digest Articles On Road Dumping:

-- Click Here for a list of articles on road dumping.

-- Millions Of Gallons Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Spread Illegally On Dirt Roads, Companies Fail To Comply With DEP Waste Regulations

-- Better Path Coalition Report: How To Close The Loophole Allowing Uncontrolled Road Spreading Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater & Fix Oil and Gas Waste Reporting System

-- The Science Says: Spreading Conventional Drilling Wastewater On Dirt & Gravel Roads Can Harm Aquatic Life, Poses Health Risks To Humans - And It Damages The Roads

-- Preliminary Results From New Penn State Study Find Increased Cancer, Health Risks From Road Dumping Conventional Drilling Wastewater, Especially For Children

-- A First-Hand Account Of How Repeated, Unlimited Road Dumping Of Oil & Gas Drilling Wastewater Is Tearing Apart Dirt Roads And Creating Multiple Environmental Hazards

-- New Abandoned Wells: DEP Records Show Abandoning Oil & Gas Wells Without Plugging Them Is Pervasive In Conventional Drilling Industry; Who Is Protecting Taxpayers?

[Posted: April 21, 2022] PA Environment Digest