EPA Plans to Allow Unlimited Dumping of Fracking Wastewater

EPA Plans to Allow Unlimited Dumping of Fracking Wastewater

Postby Oscar » Thu Sep 22, 2016 5:14 pm

EPA Plans to Allow Unlimited Dumping of Fracking Wastewater in the Gulf of Mexico

[ http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/3771 ... -of-mexico ]

Thursday, 22 September 2016 00:00 By Mike Ludwig, Truthout | News Analysis

Environmentalists are warning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its draft plan to continue allowing oil and gas companies to dump unlimited amounts of fracking chemicals and wastewater directly into the Gulf of Mexico is in violation of federal law.

In a letter sent to EPA officials on Monday, attorneys for the Center for Biological Diversity warned that the agency's draft permit for water pollution discharges in the Gulf fails to properly consider how dumping wastewater containing chemicals from fracking and acidizing operations would impact water quality and marine wildlife.

The attorneys claim that regulators do not fully understand how the chemicals used in offshore fracking and other well treatments -- some of which are toxic and dangerous to human and marine life -- can impact marine environments, and crucial parts of the draft permit are based on severely outdated data. Finalizing the draft permit as it stands would be a violation of the Clean Water Act, they argue.

"The EPA is endangering an entire ecosystem by allowing the oil industry to dump unlimited amounts of fracking chemicals and drilling waste fluid into the Gulf of Mexico," said Center attorney Kristen Monsell. "This appalling plan from the agency that's supposed to protect our water violates federal law, and shows a disturbing disregard for offshore fracking's toxic threats to sea turtles and other Gulf wildlife."

The Center has a history of using legal action to stop polluters and challenge the government to enforce environmental regulations, so the letter could be seen as a warning shot over the EPA's bow. Earlier this year, lawsuits filed by the Center and another group won a temporary moratorium on offshore fracking in the Pacific Ocean [ http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/3465 ... california ] , and the groups are currently preparing to challenge fracking in the Santa Barbara Channel under the Endangered Species Act. [ http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/3727 ... es-at-risk ]

Offshore fracking involves pumping water, chemicals and sand at extremely high pressure into undersea wells to break up rock and sand formations and clear pathways for oil and gas. Offshore drillers also treat wells with corrosive acids, such as hydrochloric acid, in a process known as "acidizing."

The technologies have been used hundreds of times to enhance oil and gas production at hundreds of Gulf wells in recent years [ http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/3655 ... n-disaster ], and environmentalists say use of the technology could increase in the future as the industry seeks to maximize production in aging offshore fields. Still, little was publicly known about these "well treatments" until Truthout and environmental groups began filing information requests with federal regulators.

Regulators and the fossil fuel industry say offshore fracking operations have a good safety record and tend to be smaller in size compared to onshore operations, but environmentalists continue to worry about the chemicals used in the process because many of them are known to harm marine wildlife [ http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news ... -2014.html ] . Plus, dolphins and other species in the Gulf are still suffering from the lingering effects of the 2010 BP oil spill.

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[ http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/3771 ... -of-mexico ]
Oscar
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