Much has been written and discussed about the enormous opportunities related to the Marcellus Shale (www.geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml) natural gas play. It’s hard not to get excited about the potential economic impact that the extraction of this gas will have on hundreds of companies, thousands of individuals and the entire Commonwealth. The prospect for dollars, jobs and development, not to mention the security of helping to extend our energy independence, is a much needed breath of fresh air, especially in the midst of the most difficult economic circumstances we’ve seen in several generations.
Opportunities, however, rarely come without challenges and getting the Marcellus natural gas out of the ground and to the consumer is no different in this regard. The challenge receiving perhaps the most attention is how to dispose of all the wastewater that is generated both by the drilling and by the ongoing extraction process. The volume of wastewater connected to these activities is enormous now and will continue to grow as the drilling activity intensifies.
Managing the wastewater disposal requirements is one issue that not only gets everyone’s attention, but forces collaboration on a solution as well. Today, it’s clear that all of the affected parties including the Energy Producers, the PA DEP, POTW’s and Professional Disposal & Recycling Firms like ours are exploring every avenue possible to supply the treatment capacity necessary to accommodate the drilling activity (and preserve the much needed economic impact associated with it) while protecting our precious natural water resources as well. It’s not an easy task.
Most wastewater treatment systems, be they mechanical, chemical or biological, are not able to remove many of the contaminants commonly found in the drilling and extraction related wastewaters. Examples of these contaminants include Chlorides, Salt and Total Dissolved Solids which, when present in elevated levels, are tough, expensive and slow to remove. As a result, most or all of these contaminants flow through the treatment systems, leading to higher levels of the contaminants in rivers (as evidenced recently in the Monongahela River) to which the water eventually flows. These elevated levels have the ability to negatively affect the chemical balance in the river and the quality of the drinking water upon which many communities rely.
There is another significant issue and danger present in the drilling related wastewater that has yet to get much attention, but it certainly got ours. In September 2008, we had a very serious fire at our wastewater processing facility. Luckily, no one was hurt. When we investigated the fire, we determined that the primary cause was our own improper use of a cutting torch. What we also come to conclude, however, was that the fire was additionally fueled and intensified by the presence of “drip gas” that, unbeknown to us, was in our treatment system. Drip gas is a naturally occurring form of gasoline found near many oil and natural gas wells, in natural gas pipelines, and as a byproduct of natural gas extraction. As you can imagine, and as we unfortunately found out for ourselves, drip gas burns fast and hot and, due to its low flash point (@75f), it can easily be ignited by a flame, a cigarette or even by static electricity.
When we resumed operations at our plant, we instituted a policy that requires us to sample and test every incoming truck for the presence of drip gas. That policy has paid many dividends. On average, of the 50-70 trucks transporting drilling related wastewater to our facility daily, we reject 1 or 2 because the loads contain drip gas and are extremely flammable. We don’t know what happens to these loads. Perhaps they are returned to the drilling site or managed as a flammable hazardous waste. That would be appropriate. Or maybe they are simply re-routed to another commercial treatment facility or Publically Owned Treatment Works that either doesn’t sample the loads or is not equipped or staffed to test for the presence of drip gas. If this is the case, the likelihood that someone else may have an experience similar to ours or worse is, unfortunately, high.
In our view, of the many wastewater contaminant challenges associated with the Marcellus drilling related activities, drip gas is the most significant because 1.) Like TDS and Chloride, it is impossible for most mechanical, chemical or biological treatment facilities to remove and, as a result, drip gas flows through these systems and into our rivers. 2.) Many, likely most, treatment facilities do not sample loads and, even if they do sample, are not equipped to test for drip gas and 3.) With the presence of a spark or static electricity, drip gas will ignite and burn quickly and violently putting property and people at risk of damage and injury.
As we continue to pursue a practical and achievable balance between the economic opportunity and environmental challenges facing us in the Marcellus, it’s important that whatever directions we pursue support both the protection of our resources and the safety of our people and systems. We learned the hard way just what can happen when drip gas meets a spark and we took the necessary steps to ensure that we won’t need to learn that lesson again. For the safety of our people, our water quality and our infrastructure, we need to build drip gas testing plans into every drilling related wastewater management program. If we fail to do so, we won’t be the last ones to experience the lesson firsthand.
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