DOE TO ASSESS PRODUCED WATER, SAND HARM

The Department of Energy is launching a research program to determine if water and sand produced with oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico pose U.S. environmental or health risks. A court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to issue new nationwide discharge guidelines by next June, and DOE warned that tighter limits could reduce future offshore production by hundreds of millions of barrels. DOE said the rules could require operators of new wells in shallow water to reinject or treat

Nov. 25, 1991

2 min read

The Department of Energy is launching a research program to determine if water and sand produced with oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico pose U.S. environmental or health risks.

A court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to issue new nationwide discharge guidelines by next June, and DOE warned that tighter limits could reduce future offshore production by hundreds of millions of barrels.

DOE said the rules could require operators of new wells in shallow water to reinject or treat produced water and sand and could require similar steps for existing production by 1995.

Deputy Energy Sec. Henson Moore said, "it is important that regulators work with the best information in setting future guidelines. The effort we are beginning is intended to provide information that today isn't readily available."

WHAT'S PLANNED

DOE and the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service asked that proposals be submitted by Jan. 3, 1992, for collecting water and sand discharges at eight offshore sites and analyzing them for dissolved salt concentrations, trace metals, organic substances, and naturally occurring radioactive material.

A separate contractor will examine the data to assess risks to the environment and human health.

The winning contractors will be chosen next spring. DOE's Pittsburgh, Pa., Energy Technology Center is handling the solicitation.

DOE said some Gulf of Mexico production always has contained higher than normal levels of radioactive materials, but recently EPA and state regulatory agencies have paid them more attention.

It said, "To date, no evidence exists that naturally occurring radioactive materials, primarily forms of radium, pose threats to marine and coastal environments. DOE, however, wants to ensure that adequate scientific information on these and other impurities is available for regulators."

The project also will survey the extent of plant and animal life at four wetlands or open bay areas that were once discharge sites.

And it will assess how current and prospective discharge requirements will affect Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production.