Recycling Improved, But Disposal Still an Issue

Recycling of frack wastewater has been a hot topic lately since the  2/26 New York Times story hit the news which raised questions about the safety of of the disposition of frack wastewater and the potential for threats to drinking water (FrackCheckWV, 2/28).  A March 1st Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story touted how far recycling has come while a followup New York Times story entitled Wastewater Recycling No Cure-All in Gas Process was published the same day.  Each Marcellus well uses an average of 4 million gallons of frack fluid, a mixture of water, sand and chemicals.  A range of 10-50% of the “flowback water” is returned to the surface along with the dissolved heavy metals and radioactive materials.

The Post Gazette noted the progess of Range Resources which recycled 90% of the waste water generated in 2010.  The article also noted that Range has reduced the number of chemical additives to frack fluid from 10-20 chemicals to four or five.  The proportion of chemicals dropped dramatically as Range figured out that methods used in Barnett shale were overkill in Marcellus shale.  Chemical additives in Range’s frack water have dropped by a factor of five from  half of one percent to one tenth of one percent. Industry is considering supplementing frack fluid with untreated mine water.

The NY Times story observed that recycling falls short of eliminating all disposal problems and that, according to state records,  overall Pennsylvania drillers recycled less than half the wastewater produced in the 18 months ended December 2010.   Some municipalities purchase frack wastewater and use the briny substance for deicing roadways in the winter and for dust suppression in the summer. This practice creates health threats to people and to the environment as the wastewater then is washed into waterways along with its burden of radioactive and toxic components.

Another unaddressed issue is the disposal of pit liners employed to retain drill cuttings and drilling mud,,and possibly wastewater.  These pits and their coating of residual sludge are typically buried after use on site.  Currently there is no law in West Virginia that calls for the pit liners to be taken to a hazardous waste facility.  In recognition of the potential for water contamination that may result from this practice,  Anadarko recently announced that not only will it employ the closed loop system of handling drill cuttings and drilling mud, but also has intentions of digging up about a dozen buried pit liners.  This could be perceived as a mea culpa for Anadarko for violations related to pit liner problems which have led to leakage of pit contents.

While recycling is a good thing and the progress of Range Resources is to be commended, the public still seeks answers to how to eliminate contamination issues from other disposal methods.