On April 17, Siri Lawson from Farmington Township, Warren County provided the Senate Democratic Policy Committee a first-hand account of the health and environmental impacts from road dumping conventional oil and gas wastewater-- it’s literally like “inhaling oil and gas wastewater 24-hours per day.”

The hearing was organized by Sen. Katie Muth (D-Chester), Chair of the Committee, and Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester), Minority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, to examine the environmental and public health impacts associated with disposing of conventional oil and gas wastewater on public roads.

“Oil and gas wastewater is an enormous liability for the fossil fuel industry,” said Lawson.  “Time and again, the industry has proved the less regulators or the public know about this toxic by-product of fossil fuel production, the better off the industry is.

“Forbidden in 2011 from easy disposal of wastes into waterways, and with few other convenient disposal choices, all eyes turned to dirt roads. 

“The number of vac trucks disgorging loads of oil and gas wastewater on rural dirt roads literally skyrocketed.”

“We discovered there has been so much wastewater dumping in our township the DEP referred to Farmington Township as a "Waste Facility," That was shocking. 

“As the brine dumping escalated astronomically in our township, we began hearing from fellow residents.  They were reporting 3-4 brine vac trucks dumping on their roads per day, multiple times per week, month after month,  year after year.

“Spring, summer, fall.  And they wanted it stopped.

“Importantly, residents agreed,  oil and gas wastewater did not suppress dust or stabilize roads.

“There were reports of children experiencing  anaphylactic-like respiratory reactions in connection to fresh brine exposure. 

“There were complaints about the smell of brine and how fresh brine could make you dizzy and nauseous, if you had to cross your road to the mailbox.

“People complained about the brine mud generated on a clear, dry day after a fresh spread. 

“If the brine mud was allowed to dry on vehicles, it would have to be chipped off.  

“Amish recounted not only did horses legs and feet get coated, but often it was the young Amish daughter told to clean the dried brine mud coated buggy.

“Residents told us that in rainy spells, even in summer, they would often have to use all wheel, or 4-wheel drive to navigate Farmington's brined roads. 

“There were reports of brand new vehicles significantly rusting in their first year and catastrophic rust induced failures of older ones.

“We got reports of farm ponds, dead and no longer able to sustain aquatic life.

“Brine coated dust is insidious.

“It would choke people outdoors and it coated houses, gardens, lawns, crops, cars, animals, people.  

“Brine laden dust particles also covered the interiors of buildings.  Surfaces, food, furniture, pets, clothes, I have startling pictures.

“At the height of the road spreading years, there were reports of springs and wells being affected, people having to deal with orange brown water. 

“And with the brine came a distinctive bright green algae found in nooks, crannies, sidings and roofs. 

“So invasive, those that had pools reported they could no longer use them because of the green slime.

“We tried to work through all the standard channels to stop the road spreading.  We and our fellow residents were dissed and threatened or ignored every step of the way. 

“Twice charges were filed against us by one of the vac truck drivers for taking pictures, once against a neighbor for stopping to watch him spread.

“The repeated and unrelenting wastewater dumping  caused me and my husband  to experience life-threatening injuries. 

“Heart, lung, sinus, ear damage. Massive infections. Metabolic damage.  

“It badly damaged many of our horses and dogs, they suffered the same injuries.  

“All the environmental advocacy in the world was not having an impact on either DEP, our township or those using Farmington's dirt roads to dump  brine. 

“We had to turn to the courts and Fair Shake Legal Services was the only firm brave enough to take our case. 

“Fair Shake gave us the choice of a personal injury action or a different action which would benefit  our dirt road neighbors and all those that lived on dirt roads in Pennsylvania. 

“There was no choice, we would try to help everyone.

The outcome of the 2017-18 Environmental Hearing Board lawsuit is hard to bear.  Its immediate success was rapidly clouded by its shortcomings.

“Outsiders dubbed our victory merely a moratorium on road spreading and as it turns out, not even that.  

“Some operators did not wait even a month to resume spreading and manipulating the law.

“By 2021, the brine dumping business had nearly returned to normal.  Once again, dirt roads were  getting hammered.  Wastewater was being spread on paved roads.. 

“When the good people of Pennsylvania speak of the drilling wastes, drill cuttings and wastewaters that have made our landfills radioactive and irradiated our waterways, this is what is being dumped on Pennsylvania's roadways. 

“Only some of what is dumped on the roads stays on the roads.  Some wastewater washes into the waterways, some sinks into ditch sediments.

“While the bulk of the VOC's [volatile organic compounds] evaporate, the majority of the brine attaches to tiny dust particles as it dries and it blows into surrounding houses, barns, woods. 

“Residents are literally inhaling oil and gas wastewater 24-hours per day.

“Pennsylvania needs to pass a total and complete ban on road spreading of oil and gas wastes.  

“The oil and gas industry is continuing to use the public’s paved and dirt roads to dispose of their wastewater. 

“Over the past month, in dry weather and well above freezing, I have photographed numerous roads coated with fresh, distinctive, well head wastewater.

“The government,  environmentalists, science and the oil and gas  industry  rapidly need to become leaders in solving the oil and gas wastewater problem. The solution will require public involvement also.”

Click Here to read Siri Lawson’s entire written testimony.

A video of the hearing is posted on Sen. Muth’s website.

[Note: Siri Lawson did not have oil and gas wastewater dumped on her road in Farmington Township, Warren County for more than six years after the 2017 Environmental Hearing Board case she brought was settled.

On April 4-- less than two weeks ago-- conventional well owners dumped wastewater on the road in front of her house.]

(Photos: Road dumping oil and gas wastewater near Lawson’s home in March, 2024)

Resource Links:

-- Photos Of Typical Road Dumping:  See Photos Here + See Photos Here

-- Spring Road Dumping Season Underway As Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Get Rid Of Their Wastewater  [PaEN]

Hearing Testimony

-- Dr. William Burgos, Penn State Professor of Environmental Engineering.  Written Testimony + Journal Article/Research Paper Showing Conventional and Shale Gas Wastewater Very Similar

-- David Hess, Former Secretary of DEP under Governors Ridge and Schweiker.  Written Testimony.

-- Siri Lawson, Warren County resident, significantly impacted by road dumping.  Written Testimony

-- Karen Feridun, Better Path Coalition, who has done important research into waste reporting and related issues on conventional road dumping.  Written Testimony

-- Department of Environmental Protection Written Testimony Only

Related Articles - Senate Road Dumping Hearing:

-- Senate Hearing: The Case For An Immediate, Total Ban On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: Penn State Expert: ‘No More Research That Needs To Be Done’ To Justify A Ban On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: First-Hand Account Of Health, Environmental Impacts From Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater - ‘Inhaling Oil & Gas Wastewater 24-Hours A Day’  [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: 3.5 Million Gallons Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Dumped On PA Public Roads Since DEP’s ‘Moratorium’ On Dumping Started 6 Years Ago  [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: DEP Still Evaluating The Data On Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater; Asks Public To Report Road Dumping  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 13 to 19 - Oil & Gas Well Owners Actively, Repeatedly Ignoring DEP Notices Of Violation; 12 Abandoned Wells  [PaEN]

-- Attorney General Henry Files Charges Against Shell Falcon Pipeline For Failure To Report Drilling Issues That Caused Industrial Waste, Potential for Water Pollution  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - April 20 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 74 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In April 20 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week - Gas:

-- April 25 Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Advisory Council Meeting Features Discussion Of Dumping Wastewater On Public Roads; Well Plugging Grant Programs; Regs. Limiting Methane Pollution From Wells  [PaEN]

-- PA Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Doubles-Down On Support For Exporting PA Natural Gas To China, Our Economic, Military Competitor  [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Europe’s Demand For LNG Gas Set To Peak In 2024 As Crisis Fades

-- Commonwealth Court Affirms EHB Ruling Sen. Muth Lacks Standing To Appeal A DEP Permit For Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facility [PaEN]

-- Protect PT Hosting April 30 Webinar On How Your Municipality Can Protect Itself From The Dangers Of Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Wells  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Holds May 2 Hearing On Water Use Requests, Including 7 Shale Gas Drilling Uses In Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wyoming Counties  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Claims That Only Thermal Energy Resources Can Ensure Electric Grid Reliability Don’t Pass The Laugh Test - By John Quigley, Kleinman Center For Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania  [PaEN]

NewsClips - Gas:

-- Environmental Health Project: Gov. Shapiro’s Record On Shale Gas And Health - A Look At The Grand Jury Recommendations One Year In

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: Attorney General Files Criminal Charges Against Shell Falcon Pipeline On Whistleblower Reports Over Pipeline Spills

-- PA Capital-Star: Democratic State Senators Want To End Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater

-- MyChesterCounty.com: PA Senators Call For Ban On Spraying Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater On Roads

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: PA Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment/Disposal Company Was Building A Conglomerate; What’s Left Is A Pile Of Waste 

-- Warren Times Editorial: Government Too Quick To Use Taxpayer Money To Plug Abandoned Conventional Wells

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Power, Pipeline Corridors Becoming Wildlife Habitat

-- The Guardian: Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Leak Exposes Carbon Capture Safety Gaps In Louisiana April 3

-- The Energy Age Blog: PA Oil & Gas Well Terminology From DEP

[Posted: April 17, 2024]

4/22/2024