The US Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft study on how the agency, states, Indian tribes, and other stakeholders manage wastewater from onshore oil and gas extraction. The undertaking will leverage expertise from those groups to identify challenges and opportunities surrounding the potential benefits of reusing the wastewater, said David Ross, EPA Office of Water assistant administrator.
The agency originally initiated the study in May 2018 and held several meetings with affected groups, and accepted comments online at www.regulations.gov. It took additional comments at its headquarters last year where officials said they hoped to produce a white paper on the subject early in 2019 but acknowledged that it would be difficult (OGJ Online, Oct. 9, 2018).
Many entities expressed support for increasing opportunities for discharge of oil and gas extraction wastewater to surface waters, especially where these wastewaters could address critical water resource needs, EPA said. Some entities expressed concern that discharges to surface waters could have adverse environmental impacts, it added.
It said it would accept comments on the draft study until July 1. Interested parties may email their input to [email protected]. After considering the feedback it receives, the agency will finalize the study later this summer. EPA will determine at that time what, if any, future agency actions are appropriate to encourage the beneficial reuse of oil and gas extraction wastewater under the Clean Water Act. This could include both regulatory and nonregulatory approaches, it said.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
