Delaware River Basin Commission Clarifies New Regulations On Oil/Gas Fracking Wastewater Bans Road Spreading, Disposal From Conventional Wells

The Delaware River Basin Commission has clarified regulations it adopted in December to regulate wastewater to make clear they ban the road spreading and disposal of fracking wastewater from conventional as well as unconventional shale gas drilling operations.

Conventional well drillers use fracking extensively in new wells and often frack older wells to simulate production.  Read more here.

The clarification was in response to a federal lawsuit filed by the Damascus Citizens for Sustainability claiming DRBC's wastewater regulations had a "loophole" that would have allowed wastewater from conventional drilling to be spread on roads or disposed of in the Delaware Basin.

In an updated Frequently Asked Questions about the rulemaking, it says this about conventional wastewater--

"The final rule prohibits the discharge of wastewater meeting the definition of “wastewater from HVHF and HVHF-related activities,” as set forth in 18 C.F.R. 440.2, regardless of whether the well generating the wastewater, the formation targeted by the well, or the drilling activity is labeled “conventional” or “unconventional.”

"The Commission’s rule thus prohibits the discharge within the Basin of wastewater from a “conventional” well that is stimulated with HVHF techniques. Similarly, if a “conventional” well is stimulated using techniques other than HVHF, but with fracturing fluid comprised in part of treated or untreated wastewater from HVHF or HVHF-related activities, the prohibition applies to the entire discharge. As stated in FAQ 3 above, road spreading of HVHF wastewater is prohibited.

"The discharge of wastewater that is not generated in whole or in part from HVHF or HVHF-related activities falls outside the scope of the Commission’s discharge prohibition. That is, the prohibition does not apply to the discharge of wastewater other than HVHF and HVHF-related wastewater."

All or part of 17 counties in Pennsylvania are included in the Delaware River Basin.

Click Here for a copy of the FAQ.

As a result of DRBC’s clarification, the Damascus Citizens For Sustainability dropped its lawsuit.

While road spreading is technically illegal in Pennsylvania for the moment because no operator has been able to meet the requirements in DEP’s Residual Waste Regulations, it has not been banned.  Read more here.

The state Office of Attorney General is also investigating the practice.  Read more here.

NewsClip:

-- WFMJ/AP: DRBC Clarifies Frack Waste Ban In Delaware Watershed Applies To Conventional Oil/Gas Wells

Related Articles - DRBC Wastewater:

-- Damascus Citizens For Sustainability Files Lawsuit Challenging The Delaware River Basin Commission Fracking Wastewater Rule Generally And For Allowing Road Dumping Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Creating Widespread Pollution

-- Delaware River Basin Commission Adopts A Ban On Discharging Wastewater From Hydraulic Fracturing Drilling Operations, Strengthens Rules On Exporting, Importing Water To Support Fracking

 PA Oil & Gas Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 22 - 28; Conventional Wells Venting Gas; Shale Gas Well Pad Spills  [PaEN] 

-- Citizen Complaint Results In Finding 2 Abandoned Conventional Wells Owned By Prosperity Oil Co. Continuing To Vent Natural Gas In Washington County  [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Appalachia: DEP Inspections Find Violations For Spills, Releases, Continuing Defective Casing/Cementing At Shale Gas Well Pads In Bradford, Susquehanna Counties  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - April 29  [PaEN]  

-- DEP Posts 61 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In April 29 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Compliance Reports

-- Feature: 60 Years Of Fracking, 20 Years Of Shale Gas: Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Industrial Infrastructure Is Hiding In Plain Sight [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Failed To File Annual Production/Waste Generation Reports For 61,655 Wells; Attorney General Continues Investigation Of Road Dumping Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issued 754 Notices Of Violation For Defective Oil & Gas Well Casing, Cementing, The Fundamental Protection Needed To Prevent Gas Migration, Groundwater & Air Contamination, Explosions  [PaEN]

-- DEP Report Finds: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Routinely Abandon Wells; Fail To Report How Millions Of Gallons Of Waste Is Disposed; And Non-Compliance Is An ‘Acceptable Norm’  [PaEN]

-- DEP 2021 Oil & Gas Program Annual Report Shows Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Received A Record 610 Notices Of Violation For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Record Year: Cost, Criminal Convictions Up; $3.1 Million In Penalties Collected; Record Number Of Violations Issued; Major Compliance Issues Uncovered; Evidence Of Health Impacts Mounts  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week:

-- House Committee Meets May 2 On Bill To Restore Authority To Review Conventional Oil/Gas Well Plugging Bonding Amounts; Help Prevent Routine Abandonment Of An Average Of 561 Wells A Year  [PaEN]

-- House Environmental Committee Sets May 1 Hearing On Cryptocurrency And Climate Change; Background Brief  [PaEN]

-- EDF: Pennsylvania Has 55,000 Oil/Gas Wells At High Risk Of Being Abandoned; 51,000 Wells At Risk Of Being Transferred To Low Solvency Owners; Current Conventional Well Owners Abandon 561 Wells A Year, On Average  [PaEN] 

-- House Hearing: Let’s Work Together To Make Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Practices Cleaner, Respect Property Rights, Protect Taxpayers And Prevent New Abandoned Wells  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Conventional vs Unconventional Oil & Gas Wells - Not As Different As You Might Think - By Laurie Barr, Save Our Streams PA  [PaEN]

-- DEP Tentatively Sets May 18 Online Public Conference On Proposed Roulette Oil & Gas Waste Injection Well In Clara Twp., Potter County; Opponents Again Call For Robust Public Participation Process  [PaEN]

-- Delaware River Basin Commission Clarifies New Regulations On Oil/Gas Fracking Wastewater Ban Road Spreading, Disposal From Conventional Wells  [PaEN] 

-- NRDC: U.S. Dept. Of Transportation Denies Special Permit For Shipping LNG Natural Gas By Rail From A Proposed Bradford County LNG Plant; Shipping By Truck Still Allowed  [PaEN]

-- Eyes On Shell Reports Shell Petrochemical Plant Fenceline Monitors Found Benzene Emissions Above Toxic Substances Limits; No Timeline For Restarting Plant; DEP Issued Another NOV For Air Violations  [PaEN]

-- Senate Environmental Committee Holds May 1 Hearing On Electric Grid Reliability Looking At Natural Gas, Other Generation Failures During Winter Storm Elliot In December [PaEN] 

[Posted: April 28, 2023]  PA Environment Digest