On September 30, Sen. Katie Muth (D-Chester) and Rep. Sara Innamorato (D-Allegheny) co-chaired a hearing by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee on the environmental and health dangers associated with oil and gas drilling waste in Pennsylvania.

These members introduced Senate Bill 645 (Muth-D-Chester) and House Bill 1355 (Innamorato-D-Allegheny) that would repeal oil and gas industry exemption from complying with the Solid Waste Management Act and include drilling waste in the definition of hazardous waste in an attempt to deal with many of these issues.  Read more here.

Representatives of the Department of Environmental Protection said at the hearing--

-- The potential for environmental impact from spills or leaks of TENORM [naturally occurring radiation] contaminated oil and gas drilling waste material is real.

-- DEP acknowledged areas needing more research included: continued sampling of landfill leachate [Read more here], further investigation of roads treated with oil and gas brines [Read more here], and sampling during gas pipeline pigging operations from its 2016 TENORM study.

-- Last year, the amount of TENORM waste (200,000 cubic feet) exceeded the amount of low level radioactive waste (150,000 cubic feet) went to Class A low-level radioactive waste in Texas and Utah.

-- DEP does not routinely cross check the waste numbers submitted to DEP by oil and gas drilling companies and landfills accepting the wastes, due to staff and funding issues.

-- DEP does not do routine radium/radioactivity testing as part of the Oil and Gas Program’s water contamination investigations because they are looking for unique chemicals typical of drilling operations.

-- DEP has no position on Senate Bill 645 (Muth-D-Chester) and House Bill 1355 (Innamorato-D-Allegheny).

The Department of Health’s written testimony presented to the Committee on the health threats posed by oil and gas drilling said--

“We are aware that certain contaminants, radioactive materials, and other additives are components of the wastewater produced during the natural gas fracturing process. Some of those additives could pose a risk to humans depending on the prevalence and level of exposure.

“Further, the Department is not aware of the full spectrum of the additives contained in oil and gas wastewater and as a result may not be able to assess the level of risk posed by its release into the general environment.

“Given these circumstances, from a purely public health standpoint, PA DOH believes that measures to prevent or reduce human contact with potential contaminants is beneficial.”

Here’s a summary of comments from a number of presenters at the hearing.

Amy Mall, Natural Resources Defense Council, provided an overview of a report issued by NRDC in July-- A Hot Fracking Mess: How Weak Regulation of Oil And Gas Production Leads to Radioactive Waste in our Water, Air, and Communities.

“While we are concerned about all toxic components in waste associated with oil and gas exploration and production, this report focused specifically on radioactive waste and concluded that gaps in our regulatory structure allow radioactive oil and gas materials to go virtually unregulated.

“We are concerned because radium-226 and radium-228, both present in oil and gas waste, can cause bone and connective tissue cancer. In addition, radium decays into radioisotopes that can attach themselves to dust and, if inhaled, cause lung cancer.

“Radon decay products, including lead-210 and polonium-210, are also present in high levels in some equipment and can further contribute to cancer risk. Along with cancer risk, scientists are currently investigating the potential non-cancer health effects of radioactive particles, such as blood pressure and heart and lung conditions.

“Throughout the oil and gas development process, radioactive material can enter the environment both accidentally and intentionally. During production, equipment such as compressors, pumps, and pipes may be exposed to radioactive material; that equipment becomes waste when it is maintained or replaced and materials are transported to storage or disposal sites.

“Radiation can be present in materials that are spilled or leaked from pits, tanks, or landfills. It is found in drill cuttings, produced water, and tank sludge.

“And it can be intentionally reintroduced into the environment through methods such as road spreading, where wastewater is sprayed directly onto roads for dust suppression or de-icing.

“It’s important to note that the dangers of radioactive oil and gas waste are not limited to wellpads or tank farms, because the waste can be transported to different storage, handling, and disposal sites.”

Click Here for a copy of the NRDC’s entire written testimony.

John Stolz, Director of the Center for Environmental Research and Education at Duquesne University, said there is little difference between conventional and unconventional oil and gas drilling wastewater-- “brine.”

“I've gotten several series of produced water from both conventional wells and from unconventional wells and the characteristics, although a little different with the varying constituents, it's pretty much very similar and when we talk about things like bromide, which is important for public drinking water, as well as the radioactivity,” said Stolz.

“We now have the data, we now have the science, my group, the Penn State group, any number of groups, have done the chemistry and we know this stuff is toxic,” said Stolz. 

“The most recent study that was funded by DEP by Penn State, was to see if road brining with conventional fluids was beneficial and it turned out it actually destroyed the roads and was worse than no treatment at all.”  [Read more here.]

Click Here for a copy of the written testimony.

Rebecca Franz, Chief Deputy Attorney General For Environmental Crimes Section, provided an overview of recommendations of a 2020 Grand Jury report and legislation to address their concerns.  Read more here.

Justin Nobel, an investigative reporter, outlined the findings from an article he did for Rolling Stone Magazine-- America’s Radioactive Secret-- on radioactivity in oil and gas industry liquid and solid wastes.

“We are talking about an extremely salty stream of liquid waste that the industry innocently refers to as “brine” or “produced water”—it is loaded with human carcinogens such as benzene, toxic heavy metals such as arsenic and lead, and it can be loaded with extraordinarily high levels of the radioactive element radium.

“We are talking about massive amounts of drill cuttings brought to the surface in the process of drilling through the uranium and thorium-rich Marcellus shale.

“We are talking about various scales and sludges that form in wellhead pipes, pumps, valves and tanks and can have radioactivity levels 100,000 times limits EPA has set for soil at even the nation’s most toxic cleanup sites, such as Superfund sites and uranium mills.”

“ The [federal] 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, was an attempt to appropriately define and characterize the nation’s hazardous waste in an effort to keep workers and communities safe.

“And yet under the 1980 Solid Waste Disposal Act amendments, all of this epic amount of oil and gas waste, despite containing clear hazardous properties, received a stunning exemption known as the Bentsen and Bevill Amendments, enabling it to be labeled as non-hazardous.”

[As a result of this exemption,] “We can run trucks filled with hazardous waste through Pennsylvania communities and not tell people what is in the trucks and we can take those trucks to places called injection wells, often located in Ohio, such as this one, which is literally on the edge of a shopping plaza in Cambridge Ohio.”

Click Here for a copy of his written testimony.

Melissa Troutman, Co-Founder of the Public Hearld, shared the story of how oil and gas wastes became exempt from federal and state hazardous waste laws and concerns about radioactivity in these wastes.

“According to a 2016 U.S. EPA analysis , the average concentration of radium-226 in 74 samples of Marcellus shale wastewater was 1,700 picocuries per liter. For comparison, the limit for drinking water is 5 picocuries per liter.

“Radium is a known human carcinogen, has a half life of 1,600 years, and is one of the most prevalent forms of TENORM in oil and gas waste.

“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s own TENORM study of radioactivity in oil and gas waste found that concentrations of radium in both drilling and fracking fluids were similar, reaching levels as high as 26,600 picocuries per liter.

“PA DEP has downplayed the results of its own oil and gas TENORM study, choosing to ignore critical pieces within its dataset that Public Herald recently uncovered and will be reporting to the public very soon.

“The risks from oil and gas waste extend far beyond the places where it originates. It sometimes travels hundreds of miles across the Commonwealth through unsuspecting communities to be disposed of landfills and rivers that then carry it downstream, even out-of-state.

“The solution is an equitable one – remove exemptions and place the oil and gas industry back on a level playing field with all other industry sectors. This is a simple solution rooted in common sense, not politics. Health and justice are the rights of everyone, regardless of where a person falls on a political or ideological spectrum.”

Click Here for a copy of her written testimony.

Joshua Pribanic, Public Herald, said, “Ten years of investigations by Public Herald have revealed that there is substantially more water contamination in Pennsylvania than EPA or PA DEP have acknowledged in favor of diluted and false conclusions about the potential impacts of unconventional oil and gas fracking.”

Pribanic summarized many of the major articles published by Public Herald on these issues.

Click Here for a copy of his written testimony.

Guy Kruppa, Belle Vernon Municipal Authority, described the issues they had treating leachate from the Westmoreland County Landfill that accepted oil and gas drilling wastes.  [Read more here about the issue.]

Click Here for a copy of his written testimony.

David Allard, Director of DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection, provided a detailed explanation of the radiation exposure from solid waste, and oil and gas drilling waste in particular.

He described recent actions to require radiological testing of leachate at landfills accepting drilling waste and a study DEP did in 2016 on natural radiation [TENORM} in the oil and gas industry from well sites, through pipelines and other points in the development of this resource. [Read more here.]

“The [2016] study concluded that TENORM is a low risk to the public and workers. Conclusions also noted a potential for environmental impact from liquid oil and gas wastewater spills, and some wastewater treatment sludge exceeded DOT criteria,” said Allard.   “Acknowledgement of areas needing more research included: continued sampling of landfill leachate [Read more here], further investigation of roads treated with oil and gas brines [Read more here], and sampling during gas pipeline pigging operations.”

Threat From TENORM Waste Real

“DEP has and continues to lead the country in the evaluation of oil and gas industry generated TENORM waste handling, storage, and disposal. Through extensive evaluation, there have been no data to support the public or workers exceeding public radiation dose limit of 100 mrem/year,” said Allard.  “But, the potential for environmental impact from spills or leaks of TENORM contaminated material is real. DEP will continue to closely monitor and evaluate landfill leachate for radium content above natural background levels to ensure public health and safety.”  [from Allard’s written testimony]

“The radioactivity doesn’t seem to be a major issue [with drilling wastes],” Allard said to the Committee.

TENORM Shipped To Low-Level Waste Sites

At this same time, Allard reported the low-level radioactive waste disposal report due out at the end of the year will say there was more TENORM radioactive waste shipped to low-level radioactive disposal sites in Texas and Utah than normal low-level waste.

“Last year, actually, the TENORM waste exceeded the low level waste. We had over 200,000 cubic feet of TENORM waste go to Texas and Utah,” said Allard.  “And there was only about 150,000 cubic feet of low level waste going to these class A [disposal] waste sites.

“I've just asked our solid waste program to go back to their data. They do track all the amount of solid waste TENORM coming in. I'm curious to see if there's a drop off in TENORM waste going to our landfills, because a lot of this TENORM waste is going out-of-state for disposal.”

Allard was not asked why companies generating TENORM waste made the decision to ship it to a low-level radioactive waste site when it is not technically low-level waste.

[Note: Typically, when a company makes this kind of decision they are concerned about environmental cleanup liability.]

Click Here for a copy of his written testimony.

Scott Perry, DEP Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management, did not have written testimony, but responded to questions from Committee members.

On the proposed legislation closing the oil and gas waste loophole-- Senate Bill 645 (Muth-D-Chester) and House Bill 1355 (Innamorato-D-Allegheny), Perry said, “DEP has not developed a position on the legislation,” but added “We will not shy away from appropriately regulating this [oil and gas] industry. Our responsibility is to implement those laws.”

On testing for radioactivity in oil and gas drilling waste or water, Perry said DEP does not do routine radium/radioactivity testing as part of his program’s investigations.  He said they are looking for chemicals that would be those more specifically related to oil and gas drilling.

When questioned about the tracking of drilling waste from where they are generated to where they are disposed, Perry said they don’t routinely cross check the waste numbers submitted to DEP by oil and gas companies and landfills accepting the wastes due to staffing and funding issues.

Perry said when DEP did do a comparison there have been discrepancies with landfills reporting more waste accepted from oil and gas companies than they shipped, adding some of those mistakes were “scrivner” errors or mistakes with units of weight-- pounds versus tons.

Ray Barishansky, Deputy Secretary for Health Preparedness and Community Protection with the Department of Health, submitted written testimony to the Committee.

The testimony notes the department maintains an Oil and Natural Gas Production Health Concerns Registry to allow citizens an opportunity to report environmental health complaints specifically related to oil and natural gas drilling or production-related activities to the department for follow up.

Since 2011, the Department has received 177 reports of health problems through the Registry.

The department urges any Pennsylvanian concerned with potential environmental health impacts related to oil and gas development operations to contact registry staff at 717-787-3350 to make a complaint.

The testimony says, “We are aware that certain contaminants, radioactive materials, and other additives are components of the wastewater produced during the natural gas fracturing process. Some of those additives could pose a risk to humans depending on the prevalence and level of exposure.

“Further, the Department is not aware of the full spectrum of the additives contained in oil and gas wastewater and as a result may not be able to assess the level of risk posed by its release into the general environment.

“Given these circumstances, from a purely public health standpoint, PA DOH believes that measures to prevent or reduce human contact with potential contaminants is beneficial.

“We understand that there may be practical considerations in testing and treating waste of this type that are beyond our scope and better addressed by DEP.

“Nevertheless, efforts to reduce some of the potential for exposure where risk exists would be helpful.

Click Here for a copy of the written testimony.

For written copies of testimony and a video of the hearing [when available], visit the Senate Democratic Policy Committee webpage.

Related Articles This Week:

-- Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration: Told A Federal Court Sunoco Cannot Hide Risk Assessment Data For Its Mariner East 2 Pipeline

-- TribLive Editorial: Why Do Pennsylvanians Have To Pay A Higher Price For Natural Gas? For Producing Energy?   [PaEN]

Related Articles:

-- Dangers Posed By Oil & Gas Drilling Wastes, Abandoned Wells + Siri Lawson’s Story From Warren County

-- Senate Democrats, AG Shapiro Announce Legislation To Address Issues Raised In Grand Jury Report On Natural Gas Fracking

-- House Republicans Pass Bill Legalizing Road Dumping Of Conventional Oil & Gas Well Wastewater, Rolling Back Environmental Protection Standards

-- 81 Groups, 3,342 Individuals Express Opposition To Bill Legalizing Road Dumping Of Conventional Drilling Wastewater

-- More Than 60 Environmental Groups, Green Party Of PA Oppose Road Dumping Of Oil & Gas Drilling Wastewater On Rural PA Roads

-- DEP Fails To Address Loophole That Continues To Allow Road Dumping Of Conventional Drilling Wastewater; Members Of Public Register Their Opposition To All Road Dumping

-- Groups Gathering Support For Letter Urging DEP, Gov. Wolf, AG Shapiro To Support A Total Ban On Road Dumping Of Oil & Gas Drilling Wastewater; 240.4 Million Gallons Of Conventional Drilling Wastewater Dumped On PA Roads

-- Penn State Center For Dirt & Gravel Road Studies: Road Dumping Of Oil & Gas Wastewater To Control Dust Is Environmentally Unsound Practice

-- New Penn State Study Shows Road Dumping Oil & Gas Drilling Wastewater Has Little Dust Suppression Benefit, Contains Pollutants Harmful To Human Health, Agriculture, Aquatic Life

-- DEP To Propose Regulations Allowing Road Dumping Of Conventional Drilling Wastewater Across PA

[Posted: September 30, 2021]

10/4/2021