Drilling Wastewater Disposal Options in N.Y. Report Have Problems of Their Own

New York's Department of Environmental Conservation took a stab at addressing the wastewater problem in the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on gas drilling it released in September. The report said the DEC won't issue drilling permits until companies prove they can dispose of the water. The report also listed three disposal options: Injecting it into underground storage wells, trucking it to specialized treatment plants in nearby states, or having it processed at sewage plants in New York.

But ProPublica has found that none of these methods are realistic.

• Of the 135 New York plants listed in the report, only a tiny fraction can or will accept Marcellus Shale wastewater. ProPublica interviewed spokespeople for 109 of those plants and found that just three have any interest in accepting the water -- and only in small amounts. New York City's 14 treatment plants, whose operators declined to talk to ProPublica, are already running at capacity -- and often over it -- which means they too are unlikely wastewater recipients.
• Of the 11 out-of-state plants the DEC listed as options, nine can't take any more wastewater. Two declined to answer questions for this story.
• Of the six injection wells (PDF) that operate in New York, only one is licensed to accept oil and gas wastewater. It's owned by Lenape Resources Inc., which uses it exclusively for wastewater from its own gas fields.

When asked why the report included options that aren't feasible, DEC officials said they weren't recommending the facilities, but were merely offering an inventory of possible disposal methods. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the energy companies -- not the regulators -- to solve the wastewater problem, they said.

http://www.propublica.org/article/drill-wastewater-disposal-options-in-ny-report-have-problems-1229