Abstract
In 2012, the U.S. oil and gas industry produced approximately 3.4 × 109 cubic meters (m3) of water, equivalent to 9.1 × 106 m3 per day and greater than six times the amount of water treated by the City of Houston, Texas. This “produced water” consists of drilling or completion fluids that exit a well shortly after it is brought into production, along with water occurring naturally in the rock formation that exits with the oil and/or gas. Produced water can be contaminated by hydrocarbons, metals, radioactive material, and salts, which can make recycling and disposal difficult. In this chapter, we will discuss two aspects of produced water handling—regulation and technology—specifically focusing on five U.S. regions—the Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken, Marcellus, and Niobrara. We will explore various disposal practices used in each region and consider how the regulatory framework influences those practices. The focus will be on regulations in six states – Texas, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, and Wyoming – with jurisdiction over the above regions. Just as the regions have remarkably different geology, and therefore different quality of produced water, these six states also have different regulatory frameworks. To illustrate these differences, we undertake a detailed exploration of the regulations in Texas and Pennsylvania and compare other states’ regulations where appropriate. The analysis highlights the complexity of produced water regulation, treatment, and disposal within the United States.
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- 1.
A water’s pH is an indicator of its acidity. Water with a lower pH value is acidic, while water with a higher pH value is basic. Neutral pH is 7.0. For reference, lemon juice has a pH of about 2, while an ammonia solution has a pH of about 11.
- 2.
TSS can be expressed using the unit “mg/L” referring to milligrams per liter. Therefore, there may be as much as 1000 mg or 1 g of suspended solid particles in 1 liter of produced water.
- 3.
Section 2(27) of the RCRA (42 U.S.C. § 6903(27)) defines “solid waste” to mean any “discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities.”
- 4.
The term “other wastes” encompasses waste material intrinsically derived from primary field operations associated with oil and gas exploration, development, or production, such as materials produced from a well in conjunction with oil or gas (EPA 2002).
- 5.
The Director may issue a permit on an area basis, rather than for each well individually, in certain circumstances (40 C.F.R. § 144.33).
- 6.
Uncontaminated storm water discharges associated with oil and gas construction and field operation activities are exempt from the permitting requirements in the Clean Water Act (Kundis Craig 2013).
- 7.
Permits issued under the NPDES Program include limits on the maximum concentration of pollutants in the discharge, which are set based on the available treatment technologies, as well as the desired quality of the receiving water. Procedures for establishing those limits are set out in regulations adopted under the Clean Water Act (40 C.F.R. Pt. 131).
- 8.
The 98th meridian runs through North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
- 9.
“Onshore facilities” are those located landward of the inner boundary of the territorial sea (40 C.F.R. § 435.30).
- 10.
Clean Water Act regulations define “pass-through” as occurring where a pollutant is not removed through treatment at the POTW (40 C.F.R. § 403.3(p)).
- 11.
Clean Water Act regulations define “interference” as occurring where a pollutant inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use, or disposal, resulting in a violation of the POTW’s NPDES permit, or certain statutory provisions (40 C.F.R. § 403.3(k)).
- 12.
VOCs include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylene.
- 13.
The density of a material is its mass divided by its volume. For example, water has a density of approximately 1 g/cm3.
- 14.
The specific gravity of a material is its density divided by the density of a reference material. The reference material often used for solids and liquids is water.
- 15.
The PDEP is authorized to issue general permits under 25 Pa. Code § 287.612.
- 16.
Oil and gas liquid waste is defined to include “liquid wastes from the drilling, development and operation of oil and gas wells and transmission facilities” (PDEP 2012, p. 2).
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Webb, R., Zodrow, K.R. (2020). Disposal of Water for Hydraulic Fracturing: Case Study on the U.S.. In: Buono, R., López Gunn, E., McKay, J., Staddon, C. (eds) Regulating Water Security in Unconventional Oil and Gas. Water Security in a New World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18342-4_11
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