Wastewater

Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (PA) | Pennsylvania | Wastewater

Innovative Wastewater Treatment Plant Looks for Investors
December 13, 2013December 13, 2013

Pssst. Hey buddy, have a spare $25 million to invest? Chief chemist and president of ProChemTech International (Brockway, PA), Tim Keister, says he’s figured out how to build a shale drilling wastewater plant that can make $35,000 per day and not charge drillers a dime to treat their wastewater. Keister’s innovative design removes barium and radium and turns them into barium sulfate. From barium sulfate you can make products like rubber, glass and drilling mud. Extract the barium and radium, create barium sulfate, sell it. Easy!

Except it’s not so easy when you’re the first. Investors are risk-averse and Keister has had a hard time finding someone to build the plant–so he’s going to build the first one himself. But there’s still that little problem of needing 25 mil…
Read More “Innovative Wastewater Treatment Plant Looks for Investors”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Wastewater

New Drilling Regulations Coming to OH in Next 30-60 Days
December 11, 2013December 11, 2013

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) will soon release new rules for shale drilling in the state. The new rules will cover well pad construction, wastewater treatment and a number of other aspects of drilling. According to ODNR’s Chief of the Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, Rick Simmers, the new rules are “good stuff.” The question is, good for who?

Some of the new rules will be released later this month and some in early January. Others will take longer. The route to becoming enforceable “law” (or “regulation” which is the same thing) is somewhat circuitous. The rules will be subject to a 30-day public comment period and will go before a special committee with members from both the OH State Senate and House before final approval and acceptance…
Read More “New Drilling Regulations Coming to OH in Next 30-60 Days”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Erie County (NY) | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Wastewater

Erie County (Buffalo) NY to Vote on “Near-Ban” of Fracking
December 9, 2013December 9, 2013

The odious Food & Water Watch (FWW), a partisan anti-drilling organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., is behind a scare effort to get the Erie County (Buffalo), NY legislature to ban fracking on county-owned land, ban the treatment of frack wastewater, and ban the use of processed brine (sometimes erroneously called frack wastewater) as a deicer and dust suppressant throughout the county. Using processed brine–water from drilled gas wells with heavy minerals and anything harmful removed–as a deicer and dust suppressant has been happening safely across the country for years. Hey, if Erie residents want to double the price they pay for road salt (and they use a LOT of road salt for Buffalo winters), who are we to stop them?

The full Erie County legislature will vote on the ill-advised proposed ban this week at its December 12th meeting:
Read More “Erie County (Buffalo) NY to Vote on “Near-Ban” of Fracking”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

Enviro America Sends 29K Form Letters Opposing Barged Frack Water
December 9, 2013December 9, 2013

Lookie here. A couple thousand members of Environment America (or maybe it’s just a couple hundred since they hide their enrollment numbers) have mass produced 29,000 form letters opposing the U.S. Coast Guard’s plan to allow safe shipping of frack wastewater on American rivers (see Coast Guard Green Lights Barge Transport of Frack Wastewater). Never hear of Environment America (EA)? Not many have. The organization was spawned from the “PIRG” (Public Interest Research Groups) in 2007. What you need to know is that EA is strongly anti-drilling.

We’re sure the Coast Guard appreciates the considerateness of EA in providing form letters so once they’ve read one of the letters, they’re read all of them. Saves time that way–very thoughtful of EA–although a lot of trees were slaughtered (very un-green!) to produce all that paper. So really, the headline should say that EA has sent one letter from their members, not 29,000, because that about sums up this non-story. Here’s the press announcement from EA, laced with toxic terminology and filled with bogus claims:
Read More “Enviro America Sends 29K Form Letters Opposing Barged Frack Water”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

Coast Guard Wants Frack Wastewater Barges Tested – Every Load
December 2, 2013December 2, 2013

In late October MDN told you the good news that the U.S. Coast Guard has green lighted barge shipments of frack wastewater–good news for GreenHunter and their multiple barge facilities along the Ohio River (see Coast Guard Green Lights Barge Transport of Frack Wastewater). At the time the Coast Guard published their draft rules for a 30-day comment period. Those 30 days have come and gone as of last Friday, but still no official date for when barge shipments for frack wastewater will begin.

However, from an article published by the reliably anti-drilling StateImpact Pennsylvania (NPR), we do find out that every shipment of frack wastewater via barge will first have to be analyzed by a state accredited laboratory before it can leave the dock. Why? Frack wastewater is not uniform–each batch varies in the chemical compounds found in that batch. The Coast Guard intends to keep a close eye on it. Of course analyzing every load will add a lot of time and expense to the process, but this precaution will reassure reasonable people that barge shipments of frack wastewater is safe…
Read More “Coast Guard Wants Frack Wastewater Barges Tested – Every Load”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Patriot Water Treatment | Regulation | Trumbull County | Wastewater

OH Court Tells ODNR: Turn Over Emails in Patriot Water Lawsuit
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

Patriot Water Treatment of Warren, OH has had a long-running feud with the Ohio EPA and Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR)–a feud that goes all the way back to 2011 (see MDN’s string of Patriot Water stories here). Patriot processes frack wastewater at it’s Warren plant and then disposes of the wastewater by using the local Warren municipal sewage treatment plant. That is, Patriot strips out all of the really nasty stuff, and then the sewage plant finishes off the process and the water is then released into the Mahoning River, near Youngstown.

The OH EPA and ODNR pulled Patriot’s permits to operate for a four-month period in 2012, but Patriot sued and won the right to continue operating (and sending their wastewater to the sewage plant). In relation to the shut-down, Patriot is suing for damages and the ODNR has not been altogether forthcoming with emails and paperwork requested by Patriot as part of the lawsuit. So the OH District Court of Appeals told the ODNR yesterday to comply, or else…
Read More “OH Court Tells ODNR: Turn Over Emails in Patriot Water Lawsuit”
Carroll County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Wastewater

New Frack Wastewater Recycling Plant Opens in Carroll County, OH
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

A new frack wastewater recycling facility is about to open in Sherrodsville (Carroll County), Ohio. The new plant was built by Rettew Flowback (of North Canton, OH) and is owned and will be operated by Iron Eagle, a Youngstown-based company that rents equipment to oil and gas drillers. The new plant will employ 50 people and is set to open it’s doors “by Dec. 1” according to an Iron Eagle spokesperson. It will have the capacity to process up to 588,000 gallons of water per day.

We have to confess, this one flew under the MDN radar. Here’s the few details we know, courtesy Crain’s Cleveland Business:
Read More “New Frack Wastewater Recycling Plant Opens in Carroll County, OH”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Trumbull County | Wastewater

2 Anti-Drillers Arrested at Youngstown Injection Well
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

Two anti-drilling protesters were arrested Sunday for blocking trucks trying to enter an injection well facility in Niles (Trumbull County), Ohio–near Youngstown. Film at eleven.

Oh! You want more details? There isn’t much in the way of information, but here’s what we know about who was arrested, and why:
Read More “2 Anti-Drillers Arrested at Youngstown Injection Well”
Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Warren County | Wastewater

PA DEP Consent Decree Against Waste Treatment’s Warren Plant
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

A month ago MDN told you a lawsuit had been filed by anti-drilling Clean Water Action (CWA) against the municipal sewage treatment plant in Warren, PA operated by Waste Treatment Corporation. The lawsuit claimed the Warren plant, based on testing of the Allegheny River, continues to process and dump treated frack wastewater into the river (see CWA Sues/Accuses Waste Treatment Corp of Continued Shale Pollution). A day after that story broke, both Waste Treatment and the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection responded and said that no, the plant does not and has not treated shale frack wastewater since 2011 (see Waste Treatment, PA DEP Respond to CWA Lawsuit).

However, as we said at the time, the fact that the DEP had also (quietly) filed their own lawsuit against Waste Treatment raises more questions than it answers. We now begin to get some of those answers. Yesterday, the DEP announced a “Proposed Consent Decree” with Waste Treatment that will reduce the amount of total dissolved solids it releases into the Allegheny River. The (important) question remains: If the effluent from the Warren plant is not coming from processing shale fracking wastewater, where is it coming from? What is the source of this super-salty wastewater that’s being processed by this plant?…
Read More “PA DEP Consent Decree Against Waste Treatment’s Warren Plant”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

NJ Antis Say Delaware River May See Barged Frack Wastewater
November 20, 2013November 20, 2013

This was predictable. The radical Sierra Club (of New Jersey) and other anti-drilling organizations including the New Jersey Environmental Federation, Environment New Jersey and the always rabidly anti-drilling Delaware Riverkeeper have joined forces in a coordinated attack against the U.S. Coast Guard’s proposal to allow barges to carry frack wastewater on America’s waterways–including the mighty Delaware River.

Never mind that barges containing chemicals far more deadly than frack wastewater make their way up and down our rivers every day (including the Delaware)–right now. Anti-drillers conveniently don’t mention that little fact. They just want fracking wastewater to be banned, because they want fracking banned, because fracking leads to more drilling and use of that awful, nasty, horrible fossil fuel, natural gas…
Read More “NJ Antis Say Delaware River May See Barged Frack Wastewater”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH | Wastewater

OH Energy Co Sues 2 Anti-Drillers for Defamation – and Wins!
November 12, 2013November 12, 2013

Finally! An energy-related company in the Utica Shale with a backbone. A couple of anti-drillers thought they would get away with defaming the good name of Duck Creek Energy, a company that manufactures a road deicer and dust suppressant from processed brine water produced from oil and gas wells. Brine is not frack wastewater but naturally occurring water from the depths that has a lot of minerals it (saltier than sea water). Brine comes out long after frack wastewater has been removed. When processed, brine is perfectly safe and can be used for productive things like deicer and dust suppression on roadways. Duck Creek Energy has been manufacturing their deicer for 10 years now.

The defaming anti-drillers claimed the substance being sold by Duck Energy was leftover frack wastewater and contained dangerous chemicals and radiation. Duck Creek Energy sued them and won, shutting them up from telling the outrageous lies they had been spinning…
Read More “OH Energy Co Sues 2 Anti-Drillers for Defamation – and Wins!”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Soil | Statewide PA | Wastewater

More on MSC/PIOGA and PA DEP Dueling Radiation Studies
November 12, 2013November 12, 2013

Last week MDN told you that two somewhat competitive drilling industry organizations in Pennsylvania–the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) and the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA)–announced they would launch their own study of the “does drilling create radioactive waste” issue (see MSC/PIOGA Team Up to Study Radiation in Shale Drilling). Since the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection is currently conducting a 12-14 month study of its own on that topic (see PA DEP Announces New Study of Radiation in Shale Drilling), we wondered why the MSC & PIOGA would launch their own study.

Additional information has come to light. According to an interview with Acting (soon to be full) Sec. of the DEP, Chris Abruzzo, the DEP views radioactivity in drilling waste as the possible “next frontier” of the agency’s oversight of the industry. No wonder the industry is concerned. Also, back in August, the MSC & PIOGA jointly issued a lengthy document (copy embedded below) challenging the structure and scope of the DEP study. The view of the MSC/PIOGA seems to be the DEP study as outlined is flawed (our words) and therefore will produce flawed results. Hence, they’re launching their own study to “do it right” (our words). An update on this developing story…
Read More “More on MSC/PIOGA and PA DEP Dueling Radiation Studies”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Soil | Statewide PA | Wastewater

MSC/PIOGA Team Up to Study Radiation in Shale Drilling
November 5, 2013November 5, 2013

In January 2013, MDN brought you the news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) was launching a 12-14 month study of radiation in shale drilling (see PA DEP Announces New Study of Radiation in Shale Drilling).

Yesterday the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) and the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA) announced a joint effort to conduct their own study of radiation in shale drilling. The two organizations say their study will “complement” the study now being done by the DEP. Yesterday’s announcement raises some important questions:

Read More “MSC/PIOGA Team Up to Study Radiation in Shale Drilling”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Wastewater | XTO

PA AG Pressures Judge to Step Aside in XTO Spill Case
November 5, 2013November 5, 2013

A quick update on the political persecution being shamefully conducted by Pennsylvania’s new Attorney General Kathleen Kane against XTO Energy (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). Kane is attempting to turn a 3 year-old accidental spill into a criminal case–beyond imagination.

Kane continues to abuse her power. She has pressured the judge who would have heard the XTO case to recuse himself because he has a share/interest in a gas lease. The judge’s lease is not with XTO, but that’s not good enough for anti-drilling Kane. She wanted him gone–so he’s gone…
Read More “PA AG Pressures Judge to Step Aside in XTO Spill Case”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

More on Coast Guard Plan to Allow Barging of Frack Wastewater
November 4, 2013

Last week MDN told you the U.S. Coast Guard is in the process of green lighting the barge shipment of frack wastewater and brine (see Coast Guard Green Lights Barge Transport of Frack Wastewater). MDN has tracked down the 25-page proposed policy “letter” issued by the Coast Guard–the rules that will need to be followed by those who want to use barges to ship wastewater (full copy embedded below). In addition, we also discovered the website the Coast Guard is using to elicit public comments.

So far, there are nine comments on the public comment page (they’re currently displaying only nine of 29 they’ve received), all of them against barge shipment of frack wastwater (see this page). MDN editor Jim Willis filled out his own comment in support of barge shipments (which hopefully will show up soon). What about other pro-drillers who read MDN? You might want to consider stopping by this page to leave a comment that supports barge shipments of frack wastewater…
Read More “More on Coast Guard Plan to Allow Barging of Frack Wastewater”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

Coast Guard Green Lights Barge Transport of Frack Wastewater
October 31, 2013October 31, 2013

Good news for GreenHunter Water and their multiple barge facilities located along the Ohio River: The U.S. Coast Guard issued a proposal on Tuesday that will allow GreenHunter (and other companies) to barge frack wastewater from one point to another for eventual disposal by injection well. MDN reported back in August that the federal government, including the Coast Guard, was “very close” to approving barge transport for frack wastwater (see Federal Approval for Barging Frack Wastewater Very Close).

After a 30-day comment period the Coast Guard will move forward with their proposal and announce a date on which transportation by barge can begin. This is very good news for GreenHunter and others who have been waiting for more than a year to begin barge transport…
Read More “Coast Guard Green Lights Barge Transport of Frack Wastewater”