The hearing was organized by Sen. Katie Muth (D-Chester), Chair of the Committee, and Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester), Minority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.
The hearing is intended to thoroughly examine the environmental and public health impacts associated with disposing of conventional oil and gas wastewater on public roads.
Despite a moratorium implemented in 2018 on DEP approvals for road dumping, reports indicate continued use of conventional drilling waste on roads, raising significant concerns over the potential release of harmful substances such as salts, metals, and radioactive materials into the environment.
Individuals expected to testify include--
-- Dr. William Burgos, Penn State Professor of Environmental Engineering, who has studied the health and environmental impacts of conventional oil and gas wastewater extensively.
-- David Hess, Former Secretary of DEP under Governors Ridge and Schweiker.
-- Siri Lawson, Warren County resident, significantly impacted by road dumping.
-- Karen Feridun, Better Path Coalition, who has done important research into waste reporting and related issues on conventional road dumping.
The hearing will start at 11:00 a.m. Click Here to join the hearing via Zoom.
Briefing On Road Dumping
Oil and gas wastewater is a waste generated from the time a conventional oil and gas well is drilled through its entire life. The only way to stop this waste from being produced is to plug the well.
It’s Contaminated
Penn State studies have found the amounts of at least 25 of the chemicals they tested for in this wastewater exceeded environmental and health standards and radioactive radium exceeded industrial waste discharge standards.
Penn State also found from 2008 to 2014, “spreading O&G PW [oil and gas wastewater] on roads released over 4 times more radium to the environment than O&G [oil and gas] wastewater treatment facilities, and 200 times more radium than spill events,” according to Dr. William Burgos. Read more here.
It Will Burn
This waste also has to be stored in tanks and transported in trucks with warnings that include “flammability” hazard because it can catch fire or explode.
Municipalities Are Disposal Facilities
DEP considers municipalities where conventional oil and gas well owners road dump their waste as “waste facilities” in its waste disposal recordkeeping. Read more here.
So far, 84 townships have this designation in DEP’s waste disposal database. There’s a list. Read more here.
DEP has also taken the step of advising municipalities in writing that road dumping conventional oil and gas drilling wastewater is illegal and considered waste disposal-- since it doesn’t meet Residual Waste Regulation requirements. Read more here.
Is it Useful? Experts Say No
The experts on dirt and gravel road construction and maintenance-- the Penn State Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies-- call the road dumping of conventional wastewater an “environmentally unsound practice” that can cause water pollution and even damage roads. Read more here.
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources bans road dumping oil and gas wastewater for any purpose on its over 6,500 miles of state forest roads. DCNR is the largest owner of dirt and gravel roads in the Commonwealth. Read more here.
The Allegheny National Forest says “commercial dust suppressants now available render the practice of spreading oil and gas wastewater on roads unnecessary” within the National Forest in Elk, Forest, McKean and Warren counties. Read more here.
Penn State’s Dr. William Burgos, who has extensively studied oil and gas wastewater and road dumping and its environmental and health risks says, “Pennsylvania should ban road spreading of O&G PW [oil and gas wastewater]. Read more here.
He continues, “There is no public benefit to road spreading O&G PWs…. It is all risk, no reward. The only beneficiaries are the O&G [oil and gas] operators who choose this disposal option.” Read more here.
How Much Is There? We Don’t Know
How much of this conventional wastewater is there? We don’t know.
In March, DEP reported 86% of conventional oil and gas well owners did not comply with waste disposal reporting for 33,505 wells in 2023. Read more here.
That means DEP has no idea where at least 32% of all waste generated by conventional oil and gas wells is being disposed, but probably much more. Read more here.
DEP data shows over 8 million gallons of conventional wastewater was road dumped in 2017, but that’s only what well owners reported. Read more here.
The same DEP data showed from 1991 to 2017, over 240.4 million gallons of conventional wastewater was road dumped. Read more here.
This is a huge issue and conventional well owners continue to dump.
There is no system in place to track this waste from where it is generated to where it is disposed, recycled or treated.
Even for the amounts that have been reported by well owners, DEP does not have the staff to do audits of what they report to see if it is accurate.
Attempts To Regulate Before Failed
There have been attempts to regulate the road dumping of conventional wastewater before to reduce its environmental and health impacts.
Starting in 1996, DEP looked at road dumping and the environmental impacts of this disposal method. Read more here.
The result was a set of guidelines in 1998 that limited how much could be dumped on roads and where so it wouldn’t run off and pollute. Read more here.
The industry failed to comply with the limits on how they dumped or required reporting.
In fact they are dumping now. Citizens in counties with conventional oil and gas drilling continue to report road dumping as well owners get rid of their wastewater. Read more here.
Attorney General Investigation
The fact conventional well owners continue to road dump hasn’t gone unnoticed.
According to a consultant for conventional oil and gas well owners, the state Office of Attorney General has been investigating the illegal disposal of conventional drilling wastewater by road dumping under DEP’s Residual Waste Regulations Read more here.
No charges have been announced, yet.
Non-Compliance The Norm
Non-compliance with regulations and the law is not an isolated event with conventional well owners.
In December 2022, DEP issued a first-ever assessment of compliance by conventional well owners that found “non-compliance” is an “acceptable norm in the conventional oil and gas industry.” Read more here.
Kurt Klapkowski, DEP Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management, told the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee in March--
“Unfortunately, reviewing inspection and compliance data developed since 2017, DEP has identified widespread non-compliance with laws and regulations in the conventional oil and gas industry, particularly regarding improper abandonment of oil and gas wells but also not reporting hydrocarbon and waste production and conducting mechanical integrity assessments.”
Bottomline
-- Indiscriminate Dumping: Conventional wastewater is now being illegally road dumped indiscriminately and unnecessarily anywhere the industry wants with no limits. We don’t know exactly how much because the industry fails to report;
-- Decades Of Non-Compliance: The conventional oil and gas industry has demonstrated over decades that “non-compliance” is an “acceptable norm in the conventional oil and gas industry,” according to DEP;”
-- Doesn’t Work Better Than Water: Penn State research has shown conventional wastewater has no greater value than water as a dust suppressant and has the potential to cause environmental harm;
-- Pollutants Exceed Standards: The science says 25 pollutants in conventional wastewater exceed standards to protect public health and the environment, including radioactive radium;
-- Preventing Millions Of Gallons Of Pollution: The potential benefits include preventing millions of gallons of conventional wastewater a year from being illegally dumped contaminating our environment and threatening public health;
-- Preventing Damage To Roads, Saving Taxpayers Money: Dirt and gravel road experts now know road dumping damages and destabilizes dirt and gravel roads and imposes additional costs on taxpayers;
-- Shale Gas Road Dumping Already Banned: DEP banned road dumping shale gas drilling wastewater in 2016 because it presents a threat to the environment and health, and conventional wastewater is very similar and presents the same threats; and
-- Enforceable: A total ban on road dumping wastewater would be a tool DEP could enforce.
It is clear an immediate and total ban on road dumping conventional oil and gas wastewater is the only effective option for preventing millions of gallons of waste from polluting our environment.
(Photos of road dumping in March and April of this year.)
Resource Links:
-- Photos Of Typical Road Dumping: See Photos Here + See Photos Here
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- Attorney General Henry Files Charges Against Shell Falcon Pipeline For Failure To Report Drilling Issues That Caused Industrial Waste, Potential for Water Pollution [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - April 20 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 74 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In April 20 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week - Gas:
-- Senate Hearing: The Case For An Immediate, Total Ban On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater [PaEN]
-- Senate Hearing: Penn State Expert: ‘No More Research That Needs To Be Done’ To Justify A Ban On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater [PaEN]
-- Senate Hearing: First-Hand Account Of Health, Environmental Impacts From Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater - ‘Inhaling Oil & Gas Wastewater 24-Hours A Day’ [PaEN]
-- Senate Hearing: 3.5 Million Gallons Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Dumped On PA Public Roads Since DEP’s ‘Moratorium’ On Dumping Started 6 Years Ago [PaEN]
-- Senate Hearing: DEP Still Evaluating The Data On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater; Asks Public To Report Road Dumping [PaEN]
-- PA Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Doubles-Down On Support For Exporting PA Natural Gas To China, Our Economic, Military Competitor [PaEN]
-- Bloomberg: Europe’s Demand For LNG Gas Set To Peak In 2024 As Crisis Fades
-- Commonwealth Court Affirms EHB Ruling Sen. Muth Lacks Standing To Appeal A DEP Permit For Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facility [PaEN]
-- Protect PT Hosting April 30 Webinar On How Your Municipality Can Protect Itself From The Dangers Of Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Wells [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Holds May 2 Hearing On Water Use Requests, Including 7 Shale Gas Drilling Uses In Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wyoming Counties [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: Claims That Only Thermal Energy Resources Can Ensure Electric Grid Reliability Don’t Pass The Laugh Test - By John Quigley, Kleinman Center For Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania [PaEN]
NewsClips - Gas:
-- Environmental Health Project: Gov. Shapiro’s Record On Shale Gas And Health - A Look At The Grand Jury Recommendations One Year In
-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: Attorney General Files Criminal Charges Against Shell Falcon Pipeline On Whistleblower Reports Over Pipeline Spills
-- PA Capital-Star: Democratic State Senators Want To End Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater
-- MyChesterCounty.com: PA Senators Call For Ban On Spraying Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater On Roads
-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: PA Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment/Disposal Company Was Building A Conglomerate; What’s Left Is A Pile Of Waste
-- Warren Times Editorial: Government Too Quick To Use Taxpayer Money To Plug Abandoned Conventional Wells
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Power, Pipeline Corridors Becoming Wildlife Habitat
-- The Guardian: Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Leak Exposes Carbon Capture Safety Gaps In Louisiana April 3
-- The Energy Age Blog: PA Oil & Gas Well Terminology From DEP
[Posted: April 16, 2024] PA Environment Digest
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