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Vice Chair Of DEP Citizens Advisory Council Asks DEP To Report On University Of Pittsburgh Study That Found At Least 800,000 Tons Of Oil & Gas Production Waste Sent To Landfills Was Unaccounted For In One Year

On October 10, DEP Citizens Advisory Council Vice Chair Timothy Weston requested DEP to report back to the Council on a University of Pittsburgh study that found at least 800,000 tons of waste generated by conventional and unconventional oil and gas industry was unaccounted for in the amount of waste received by landfills in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York in 2019.

Researchers, using DEP data, found an average 30 percent discrepancy between the waste numbers reported by the oil and gas industry and the waste received by landfills.

The study noted, “While reporting is required, PADEP does not confirm the accuracy of the reported information.”

[Note: DEP reported in February the owners of over 61,000 conventional oil and gas wells failed to submit their annual production and waste generation and disposal reports. This non-reporting is a routine practice by conventional operators. Read more here.]

The study-- published in the journal Ecological Indicators-- found almost half of the landfills examined had either a record of shipment or a record of receipt, but no corresponding record from the original generator.

A second part of the study analyzed samples downstream from outfalls of wastewater treatment plants that treat leachate from over 30 landfills accepting conventional and unconventional oil and gas drilling waste.

The study found increases of two to four times the background level of radioactive radium in the sediment downstream of the outfalls than above the discharge points.

The study noted landfills must test leachate for radioactive radium and other markers of oil and gas waste, but wastewater plants don’t. Read more here.

The study was originally released in July 2023 and reported by Marcellus Drilling News and The Allegheny Front at that time.

An article was published most recently by Environmental Health News on October 10.

More On The Study Results

The Marcellus Drilling News report on the study quoted these findings from the study--

“Sanitary landfills in Pennsylvania can accept the liquid waste byproducts of drilling and fracking for oil and gas as long as it is “immobilized,” mixed with wood chips or sawdust, for example.

“This waste can contain high levels of heavy metals, like arsenic; salts such as chloride and bromide; and naturally occurring radioactive materials.

“Sanitary landfills are those designed to let waste decompose; they are not necessarily designed to manage radioactive waste.

“A collaborative research study led by Daniel Bain, University of Pittsburgh associate professor of geology and environmental science, analyzed records as well as soil samples to better understand the effects of disposing of this waste in facilities that were not built to contain radioactive waste.

“The team, in an article written in Ecological Indicators by Lauren Badertscher, then a masters student at Duquesne University and now with the EPA, found that poor records and a lack of monitoring are a barrier to fully understanding the impact of this method of immobilized oil and gas waste disposal.

“Sediment samples taken upstream and downstream from 17 facilities that treat water from landfills in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania — all states that accepted such waste in 2019, when the samples were taken — often showed elevated levels of radium, implicating the wastewater as its source.

“Discharge permits for these landfills do not commonly require monitoring of materials found in oil and gas waste.

“The research team sought out reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Oil and Gas Division from oil and gas wells, indicating that they shipped wastewater to sanitary landfills in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“They also analyzed records from the environmental agencies of New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania documenting the acceptance of oil and gas wastewater.

“When the researchers compared the two, they found that, at the very best, there was still a 30% discrepancy between records of what was sent and what was received.

“Almost half of the landfills examined had either a record of shipment or a record of receipt, but no associated record on the other end in 2019.

“When totaled, these gaps in record keeping leave over 800,000 tons of oil and gas waste unaccounted for.

“Researchers concluded that insufficient regulatory recordkeeping and a lack of mandatory monitoring and testing are a barrier to fully understanding the impact on local water systems of sanitary landfills accepting wastewater resulting from drilling and fracking for oil and gas.

“The mismatch in regulatory records creates the potential for contamination,” Bain said. “And while we don’t have the data to unambiguously tie increases in stream sediment radium to disposal of these wastes in landfills, the observations clearly indicated we should really start scrutinizing, and probably rethink, the disposal of oil and gas waste in landfills.”

More On Radiation Load In Stream Sediments

On July 20, 2023, The Allegheny Front reported the study also analyzed samples downstream from outfalls of wastewater treatment plants that treat leachate from over 30 landfills accepting conventional and unconventional oil and gas drilling waste.

The study found increases of two to four times the background level of radioactive radium in the sediment downstream of the outfalls than above the discharge points.

The study noted landfills must test leachate for radioactive radium and other markers of oil and gas waste, but wastewater plants don’t. Read more here.

“Grab sampling of stream water and sediments in areas bracketing outfalls of facilities treating waste from landfills accepting O&G waste indicate accumulation of NORM [Natural Occurring Radioactive Material] in the sediments.

“Given distance from the outfall, these accumulations are of similar magnitude to those downstream of brine treatment facilities reported in the literature and indicate additions from a low 228Ra/226Ra [radioactive radium] activity ratio source, consistent with Marcellus formation sources.”

“Examination of water chemistry, including use of characteristic chemical ratios, provides further evidence for contributions from O&G waste.”

“The continued treatment and discharge of O&G waste through sanitary landfills and/or landfill leachate by POTWs has the potential to increase radioactive loads that will accumulate in sediment and remain for long periods given characteristic half-lives (e.g., 226Ra: t1⁄2 ~ 1600 y).”

Click Here for a copy of the journal article.

Visit DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council for more information. Questions should be directed to Ian Irvin, Executive Director, at iirvin@pa.gov.

(Photo: Map of outfalls sampled during the study.)

Related Articles- Pitt Study:

-- Marcellus Drilling News: 800,000 Tons Of Drilling, Frack Waste Unaccounted For In NY-PA-OH [7.20.23]

-- The Allegheny Front: Pitt Study Finds Radioactive Materials In Waterways Near Wastewater Treatment Plants Associated With Fracking Waste [7.20.23]

-- Environmental Health News: 800,000 Tons Of Radioactive Waste From PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Gone ‘Missing’ [10.10.23]

-- Northcentral PA News: 800,000 Tons Of Oil & Gas Waste Have Been Reported Missing

-- Marcellus Drilling News/The Allegheny Front: University Of Pittsburgh Study Finds At Least 800,000 Tons Of Oil & Gas Waste Sent To Landfills Unaccounted For In One Year; Oil & Gas Waste Adds To Radiation Accumulation In Stream Sediments [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - October 7 to 13 - More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Spills; Venting Gas; Emergency Well Plugging [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - October 14 [PaEN]