The Department of Environmental Protection is inviting public comments on a new proposed General Permit covering facilities that process and beneficially reuse oil and gas liquid wastes for no more than 180 consecutive days [WMGR163].  (formal notice)

The new General Permit was required by a provision slipped into the Administrative Code bill at the last minute that accompanied the FY 2021-22 budget in July of last year.

The provision was added because some legislators were upset at DEP for requiring a public comment period for individual uses of General Permit WMGR123 that also covers these facilities as part of an appeal settlement with environmental groups.  [Read more here.]

DEP develops General Permits to cover specific kinds of facilities or processes in its waste, water and air programs.  Once a General Permit is finalized, any company wanting to use the General Permit must register that use with DEP.

Typically, there is no public review of individual uses of General Permits, the theory being all the permit provisions were reviewed by the public during a comment period on the General Permit itself.

The provision in the 2021 law [page 40-41] also prohibits DEP from including a determination of applicability condition prior to the individual use of the new General Permit as authorized under 25 Pa Code 287.641(D) for the land application of material.

That is why public review of proposals like WMGR163 are so important.

WMGR163 Provisions

This proposed General Permit has a narrower scope than WMGR123 that also applies to these same oil and gas treatment and reuse facilities.

WMGR163  only allows facilities to operate no more than 180 consecutive days and is focused on oil and gas liquid waste that is transported to a DEP-permitted well site where it is used to hydraulically fracture another oil and gas well.

WMGR163 proposes to limit the size of any storage facility used as part of this process to 1 million gallons.

The most critical difference between the two General Permits is WMGR163 contains no concentration limits the oil and gas liquid waste must meet in order to be stored in an impoundment and no chemical testing of the waste is required.

WMGR123 established concentration limits for 39 different chemicals and characteristics, including Arsenic, Barium, Benzene, Bromide, Lead, Manganese, Radioactive Radium, Strontium, Toluene and other chemicals.  [Read more here.]

Otherwise, the siting requirements and other provisions of the proposed WMGR163 are much the same as WMGR123.

Click Here for a copy of the proposed WMGR163.

Public comments on WMGR163 are due March 15.

Read the entire PA Bulletin notice for all the details.  Questions should be directed to Chris Solloway, Bureau of Waste Management, csolloway@pa.gov or 717-787-7381.

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-- PA Professional Geologists: Feb. 16 Webinar: Dust Suppression With Oil & Gas Produced Water Featuring Author Of Penn State Study Finding Increased Cancer Risks With Road Spreading.

-- DEP Opportunity To Bid On Plugging 7 Orphan Oil & Gas Wells In Warren County

[Posted: January 14, 2022]

1/17/2022