Marcellus Shale gas drillers recycling more waste

On February 22, 2012 — No comments

Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale gas drilling companies are recycling more and more of their briny, chemical-laden wastewater, in most cases complying with a request from state officials to keep the pollutants from being discharged into rivers that supply drinking water.

But experts are wondering if a loophole in disposal regulations is still allowing significant quantities of one of the worrisome compounds— salty bromides— into rivers and streams, or if shale gas drillers were only part of the problem.

The new mystery is this: why hasn’t the dramatic progress on the wastewater recycling led to equally clear declines in river bromide levels?

An analysis by The Associated Press of 2011 state data released Friday found that of the 10.1 million barrels of shale wastewater generated in the last half of 2011, about 97 percent was either recycled, sent to deep-injection wells, or sent to a treatment plant that doesn’t discharge into waterways.

Some of the new disposal trends are also raising other questions. The amount of Marcellus drilling waste injected deep underground nearly tripled in the last six months of 2011, with much of that going to Ohio. Officials there are examining whether the high-pressure injections contributed to a series of small earthquakes near one waste site.

For the rest of the story visit, Marcellus Shale gas drillers recycling more waste