Gee, What Will Happen??!!!? TX Debating Possible Tightening Of Rules For Disposing Of O&G Drilling Waste

Texas is inching closer to adopting revised oil and gas waste management rules for the first time in four decades. The Railroad Commission of Texas announced the draft rule at its Aug. 15 meeting and is now soliciting public comment. The rule regulates a range of disposal sites for oil and gas drilling wastes, from pits dug next to drilling rigs to large commercial facilities managing toxic waste from numerous drillers. Waste streams that fall under the rule include drilling mud, sludge, cuttings and produced water.

The rule also aims to encourage more recycling of the drilling wastewater, which can be five to eight times saltier than ocean water and, like other oilfield waste, is often laced with fracking chemicals, hazardous compounds such as arsenic, benzene and toluene. The existing waste rule was adopted in 1984, long before fracking revolutionized the oil and gas industry. Fracking has increased the volume of oilfield waste and changed its composition. In Texas, waste pits have been linked to at least six cases of groundwater contamination and hundreds of violations of state rules.

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While drilling an oil or gas well, oily waste, known as mud and cuttings, return to the surface. The operator digs an earthen pit alongside the rig to dispose of this waste. The pit remains open while the well is drilled and then closed once the well is complete, permanently burying the waste underground. When these pits meet certain Railroad Commission requirements, they are automatically permitted. These are known as authorized pits or reserve pits. Other types of commercial waste pits require an individual permit under the draft rule. The draft rule only requires liners in reserve pits when groundwater is within 50 feet of the bottom of the pit. These pits cannot be in a 100-year floodplain but otherwise have no setback requirements from houses and water wells. There is no limit on how close the bottom of the reserve pit can be to the underlying groundwater and no groundwater monitoring required. However, for the first time, operators will be required to register the location of their reserve pits with the Railroad Commission.

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Fracking has increased the volume of drilling waste, according to law firm Baker Botts. The contents of the waste have also changed. While operators originally used water-based drilling mud, many now use oil-based mud to drill horizontal wells for fracking. The cuttings that come to the surface can contain diesel fuel and other chemicals. Drilling waste, despite containing harmful chemicals, is largely exempt from federal regulations for hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. A separate section of the draft rule covers commercial facilities that handle waste from drilling companies. The rule also governs commercial recycling facilities that process the waste for reuse, and produced water recycling facilities. Oil and gas companies are not required to report the volume of produced water generated in the state. But a 2022 report estimated that in the Permian Basin alone, 3.9 billion barrels, or more than 168 billion gallons, of produced water is generated every year.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05092024/texas-proposed-oil-gas-waste-rule-debate/