Campbell Wells

Patrick Crow
Washington, D.C.
[email protected]

U.S. petroleum industry groups are preparing for an onslaught of criticism when television network CBS airs a special news report on oil field wastes, probably in October.

The show will focus on U.S. Liquids Corp.'s Campbell Wells nonhazardous waste disposal facility near Houma, La.

In 1994, residents of the nearby Grand Bois community sued U.S. Liquids and Exxon Corp., alleging illnesses after the site received solid wastes from an Exxon field in Alabama.

The class-action lawsuit is to be tried in state court in January.

Louisiana has said Campbell Wells has fully met state exploration and production waste disposal rules. Exxon said it properly deposited residues at a licensed site.

Congress exempted E&P wastes when it reauthorized the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in 1980. A subsequent Environmental Protection Agency study said E&P wastes "rarely pose significant threats to human health and environment."

EPA and the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission have developed model E&P waste disposal rules for the states.

Spokesmen for oil groups said the questions CBS asked during interviews with state and industry officials indicated the show will advocate federal regulation of E&P wastes.

State rules

Jim Welsh, assistant commissioner of Louisiana's Office of Conservation, said that since the suit was filed, Campbell Wells has become "the most monitored facility in the state."

It has 16 ponds, covering 64 acres, for the treatment of nonhazardous oil field wastes, including drilling muds and cuttings. There are two injection wells for liquid wastes. Solid wastes are treated and removed. There are no liquid discharges.

Welsh said the site meets all state rules, including Order 29B, which requires wastes be tested to determine the best disposal method. That regulation is so comprehensive that other states have used it as a model.

Welsh said, "We believe the thrust of what CBS is trying to do is to attack the industry's RCRA exemption. But the perception that the oil industry is not regulated in Louisiana is not true. We think our regulations governing oil field wastes are very stringent and are fully protective of the public health and the environment."

Oil groups prepare

Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the American Petroleum Institute are waiting for the public relations storm to break.

API said, "There is no evidence that the local citizens' complaints are the result of exposure to any harmful materials from the Campbell Wells treatment facility, yet the industry takes these complaints very seriously."

IPAA said, "Allegations made in Louisiana have not been the industry's experience in other parts of the country. EPA studies have shown that, in general, oil field wastes are high-volume, low-toxicity wastes that, when managed properly, rarely pose a significant threat to human health."

"If the industry finds that our waste management practices are not fully protective of human health and the environment, we vow to do whatever is necessary to ensure the public's protection," IPAA said.