Oil Companies Push for More Pollution in "Produced Water"

by Dan Heilig

Taking aim at a rule that has been on the books for more than two decades, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW) has asked the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to relax pollution limits that apply to discharges of "produced water" brought to the surface by oil and gas operations.

The rule change requested by PAW was given the nod in February by the Water and Waste Advisory Board and is now heading to the Environmental Quality Council (EQC). Before making a final decision on the rule change, the EQC must hold a public hearing, probably early this summer, and provide an opportunity for public comment.

The modified rule requested by PAW would waive limits for certain pollutants contained in produced waters, such as chlorides and sulfates, on a case-by-case basis, if the landowner and discharge operator agree to increased pollution levels. Requests for waivers of pollution limits would also require the approval of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department upon a finding that the discharge would benefit fish or wildlife.

Although permissible under the existing rule, site-specific waivers of effluent limits are rarely granted because of the requirement that "extenuating circumstances" be present. The current rule also flat-out prohibits the waiver of effluent limits if the discharged waters could enter "live" surface waters such as rivers and creeks.

PAW also wants to circumvent the DEQ’s permitting requirement altogether if the produced water "does not enter or threaten to enter surface waters of the state." The problem, though, is that most produced water discharged to the surface eventually finds its way into surface waters, a fact the current rule acknowledges: "For purpose of these regulations, it is assumed that upon discharge from the operator’s final treatment unit, the produced water is entering or threatening to enter waters of the State." Salts and other solids that accumulate on the surface would, over time, be carried into surface waters by rain and snow melt.

There are a number of problems with the PAW-backed rule change:

• The express goal of the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act is to reduce pollution. The changes requested by PAW would make it easier for companies doing business in Wyoming to increase pollution in our surface waters.

• The current rule sets limits on the concentration of chlorides (2,000 mg/l), sulfates (3,000 mg/l) and total dissolved solids (5,000 mg/l). If PAW’s request is approved, there will be no specific upper limit on the concentration of these pollutants allowed in produced water.

• Under the Wyoming Constitution, waters of the state are declared a public resource. A landowner or group of landowners and an industrial facility shouldn’t be allowed to decide that more pollution is acceptable.

• The waiver is not necessary. The oil and gas industry has had to comply with current pollution limits since 1978. More advanced technologies make it even easier for the industry to reduce pollution at its source.

• The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has expressed concerns about the increased administrative burden the rule would place on the department responding to requests, stating "it may be very difficult for us in most cases to ‘prove’ that a discharge would in fact provide a benefit to fish and wildlife."
 

What You Can Do

Governor Jim Geringer
State Capitol Building
Cheyenne, WY  82002
Tel: (307) 777-7434
Fax: (307) 632-3909
e-mail: governor@missc.state.wy.us

Dennis Hemmer, Director
Department of Environmental Quality
Herschler Building
4th Floor West
Cheyenne, WY  82002
Tel: (307) 777-7939
Fax: (307) 777-7682
e-mail: dhemme@state.wy.us

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* Who Serves on the Environmental Quality Council?

One of the smallest government agencies in Wyoming, the Environmental Quality Council is a seven-member volunteer council appointed by the governor and approved by the Wyoming Senate. Its duties include developing rules and regulations pertaining to the environment and holding trial-like hearings in contested cases.

Not more than four members of the council can be from the same political party. Each member serves a maximum term of four years. The law establishing the council mandates that "at all times, there shall be at least one member from the minerals industry and one member from agriculture."