At the Center Square (PN), Rural road dust suppression technique called into question
To suppress dust, Pennsylvania allows oil and gas companies to spread wastewater on dirt and gravel roads.
A new bill, however, would end the practice over concerns for human health and nature alike.
Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Havertown, introduced House Bill 2384 to end the spread of wastewater – also called production brine – on all land, developed or undeveloped.
“This practice of spreading this wastewater has gone on for many years. This has been specifically prohibited by regulation with regard to the unconventional drilling industry,” Vitali said during a Monday House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee hearing. “The issue really is the longstanding practice of the conventional industry spreading this oil and gas wastewater on our gravel roads and in other places.”
Vitali said that though the Department of Environmental Protection has not approved permits to spread brine on roads since 2018, the practice continues.
Figuring out how much wastewater has been spread on roads isn’t easy, however. One estimation counted 3.5 million gallons since 2018.
Eric Chase, an assistant teaching professor and research analyst at Penn State University, noted that studies found chlorides, bromides, radium, barium and other petroleum hydrocarbons in the wastewater, as well as dramatically higher levels of chlorine.
“Oil and gas-produced waters are not effective at suppressing dust and pose environmental risks and harm due to the high levels of chloride and radium,” Chase said.
Rep. Martin Causer, R-Bradford, called the proposed legislation an “attack on rural residents across the commonwealth.”
“We are continually lectured in this committee about the fact that the environmental rights amendment in our const provides that residents of the commonwealth are guaranteed clean air and water — but this legislation does just the opposite,” he said. “It takes away the ability of our local communities to protect air quality for their residents.”
Causer noted township governments have used brine for years to control dust on township highways and argued state officials are “very misguided” in looking to end it.
Now that it has been found the fracking waste water (which is what they're talking about here) from the Marcellus Shale contains enough lithium to satisfy half of the US demand for the element that has become a critical part of rechargeable batteries, it should only be short time until this question is moot and fracking water will all be reclaimed to extract the lithium.
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Just What It Says On Her Label out more or less on time at The Other McCain.
