Hunters, hikers, fall foliage visitors and anyone going out to enjoy Penn’s Woods this fall are urged by former Department Of Environmental Protection Secretary David Hess to report the illegal road dumping of conventional oil and gas wastewater on roads.

“The counties hunters, hikers and fall foliage enthusiasts visit to enjoy Pennsylvania’s forests are many of the same counties where conventional oil and gas operators are still illegally dumping their drilling wastewater on dirt, gravel and even hard roads,” said Hess.  “The more eyes and ears we have watching for this illegal activity, the more chances we have to catch them in the act.”

The counties where road dumping has been reported include-- Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Greene, Jefferson, Mercer, Potter, Venango and Warren.

What To Look For

The typical road dumping operation involves a tank or vac truck with a spreading bar in the back the width of the truck with holes in it to allow the liquid wastewater to fall on the road.

Sometimes, trucks just dump it out the back through a bigger outlet pipe, if they’re near the end of the load.

See Photos Here - Read more here.  See Photos Here - Read more here.

Take Photos and Videos And Call DEP at 1-800-541-2050 to report this illegal activity or Click Here to report online and upload photos.

Hess reminds visitors not to put themselves in danger trying to get photos and videos of this illegal activity.

Background

As recently as September 20, DEP told the Citizens Advisory Council road dumping conventional oil and gas drilling wastewater still does not meet the state’s residual waste regulations and remains illegal. Read more here.

DEP has reports from conventional oil and gas drillers showing they have disposed of their waste by spreading it on roads in 84 townships in 13 counties.  Read more here.

The counties include-- Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Greene, Jefferson, Mercer, Potter, Venango and Warren.

A study released in May by Penn State University found conventional drilling wastewater spread on roads contains concentrations of barium, strontium, lithium, iron, manganese that exceed human-health based criteria and levels of radioactive radium that exceed industrial discharge standards.  Read more here.

In fact, 25 out of the 31 chemicals and pollutants found in the wastewater exceeded, and in many instances far exceeded, established health or environmental standards.  Read more here.

In 2021, conventional oil and gas operators reported disposing of 977,671 gallons of their wastewater by road dumping.  Read more here.

Operators reported road dumping a total of 3,259,405 gallons of their wastewater from 2018 through 2021.

“Major public landowners like the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Allegheny National Forest and experts like the Penn State Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies all have policies opposing the disposal of this harmful waste on roads or believe other, safer alternatives exist, ” said Hess.

DEP has banned the road dumping of unconventional shale gas drilling wastewater since 2016, even though essentially the same waste is produced by conventional drillers.

“Unfortunately, conventional operators have been getting special treatment, protected by the politicians in their primary drilling counties,” explained Hess.

“It’s time the conventional oil and gas industry join the 21st Century and take full responsibility for all the waste they produce instead of literally dumping it on taxpayers,” said Hess.  “The tens of thousands of visitors to the counties where they have their wells and are drilling more, could help them recognize that fact.”

Click Here to learn more about illegal road spreading.

Related Articles - Road Dumping:

-- Attorney General’s Office Reported To Be Investigating Conventional Oil & Gas Operators For Illegally Road Dumping Drilling Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- DEP Tells Citizens Advisory Council Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Still Does Not Meet Residual Waste Regulations; Remains Illegal  [PaEN]

-- New Penn State Study Finds Runoff From Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Dumped On Unpaved Roads Contains Pollutants That Exceed Human-Health, Environmental Standards  [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Reported Spreading 977,671 Gallons Of Untreated Drilling Wastewater On PA Roads In 2021  [PaEN]

-- DEP Lists 84 Townships As ‘Waste Facilities’ Where Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Has Been Disposed Of By Road Spreading; Municipalities Need To Do Their Due Diligence [PaEN]

-- DCNR Bans Use Of Oil & Gas Wastewater On Its Over 6,500 Miles Of Dirt, Gravel Roads  [PaEN]

-- Allegheny National Forest: Commercial Alternatives For Dust Suppression Makes The Practice Of Road Dumping Conventional Drilling Wastewater ‘Unnecessary’ On Roads [PaEN]

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

PA Environment Digest:

-- Recent Articles Posted On Oil & Gas Drilling Impacts

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP Adds Final-Omitted Reg. Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities To Oct. 12 EQB Agenda  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issued NOVs To Conventional Oil & Gas Companies For Abandoning 55 Wells Without Plugging Them During September Alone, A Dramatic Increase In New Well Abandonments  [PaEN]

-- DEP Collects $147,250 Penalty From Rice Drilling B LLC For Erosion & Sedimentation Violations In Greene County; DEP Found Rice Had Hundreds Of Other Violations, Including Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them  [PaEN]

-- DEP: PA Fracking Operations Sent Nearly 236,000 Cubic Feet Of Radioactive TENORM Waste To Low-Level Radioactive Waste Facilities For Disposal In 2021 - 811,070 since 2016  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Groups Raise Serious Compliance Issues With Olympus Energy-- Over 600 Violations On 13 DEP Permits-- In Comments On Proposed Shale Gas Drilling Pad In Allegheny County  [PaEN]

-- Washington County Community Meeting Updates Residents On PA Health & Environment Studies, Discusses Health Impacts Of Shale Gas Development  [PaEN]

-- Bills Establishing Incentives For Using Fossil-Fueled Vehicles Introduced In The House, Senate; Eliminates Support For Hybrid, Electric Vehicles  [PaEN]

-- DEP Public Notices -- Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities  [PaEN]

[Posted: October 5, 2022]

10/10/2022