Tough New Standards to Protect PA Waterways from Drilling Wastewater Take Major Step Forward
Posted by CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE at 4:48 PMThe Environmental Quality Board today approved first-of-its-kind regulations that will protect waterways from the effects of natural gas drilling wastewater, better enabling the state's Marcellus Shale reserves to be developed without sacrificing the health and quality of Pennsylvania's vital water resources.
Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger said the new regulations are an appropriate and necessary measure to ensure that drilling wastewater containing high concentrations of Total Dissolved Solids, or TDS, do not pollute drinking water supplies, damage industrial equipment, or endanger delicate aquatic life.
"Drilling wastewater contains TDS levels that are thousands of times more harmful to aquatic life than discharges from other industries. Without imposing limits on this pollution, treatment costs for this wastewater are passed along to downstream industries and municipal ratepayers," said Hanger. "All other industries in Pennsylvania are responsible for the waste they generate and the drilling industry should be no exception."
Next, the EQB-approved TDS rules will move onto the Environmental Resources and Energy committees in the state House and Senate, as well as to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission for a 30-day review period.
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