riverkeeper & sustainable business council fracking waste webinar
TRANSCRIPT
Fracking Waste in New York:A Business Perspective
June 8, 2015
Presented by:
Laura OrnsteinCoordinator, NYS Sustainable Business Council
Laura has been leading the development of the NYS Sustainable Business Council since 2013, and has helped coordinate business-oriented policy campaigns in New York, Ohio and at the national level since 2012. She was one of the primary leaders in organizing NYS businesses in favor of the successful statewide ban on fracking.
Previously she has helped with outreach and education for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York and Chefs for the Marcellus. Laura has lived in five counties across the state, and has enjoyed getting to know the business communities from central to western to southern New York. She is currently based in the Hudson Valley.
Email: [email protected]
• The New York State Sustainable Business Council (NYSSBC) is an alliance of business organizations and businesses committed to advancing a vibrant, just, and sustainable economy in the state.
• NYSSBC builds the voices of business leaders to advocate for public policy designed to build strong local economies, prioritize investment and innovation in clean technologies from green chemistry to renewable energy sources, and advance the development of sustainable communities in New York State.
• NYSSBC organizes opportunities for forward-thinking business leaders to share their values with elected officials and the media. The result is a stronger voice on public policy, and greater exposure and publicity for your business.
Misti DuvallStaff Attorney, Riverkeeper
Misti is a Staff Attorney with Riverkeeper’s NYC Watershed Program, where her work focuses on protecting the drinking water supply of nine million New York City and Hudson Valley residents. Prior to joining Riverkeeper, Misti was a Senior Staff Associate with the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, where she served as a liaison for state and local air pollution control agencies at the federal level. Before that, she spent three years working with organizations, including EarthRights International and Burma Rivers Network, to combat destructive oil, natural gas, and dam projects in Southeast Asia. Misti also represented Riverkeeper and other organizations as a student and Teaching Assistant in the Columbia Environmental Law Clinic. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and Columbia Law School.
Email: [email protected]
• Riverkeeper is a member-supported watchdog organization dedicated to defending the Hudson River and its tributaries and protecting the drinking water supply of nine million New York City and Hudson Valley residents.
• Since 2008, Riverkeeper has been actively involved in public education, advocacy, and litigation surrounding the issue of shale gas extraction, particularly because of the potential impacts on New York State’s drinking water supplies.
• Riverkeeper maintains a website, The Facts about New York and Fracking Waste, dedicated to providing information about fracking waste and support for New York communities interested in prohibiting improper reuse and disposal of this waste within their borders.
We will review:
• Fracking waste: what it is, where it comes from, and why we are concerned about it.
• Common reuse and disposal practices in New York.
• Risks to the environment, public health, and businesses.
• State and local level legislation.• Actions you can take.
Waste from oil and natural gas extraction includes:
• Flowback water (or flowback fluid)– Fracking fluid that returns to the surface after a well is fracked,
consisting of 10-40% of the injected fluids and chemicals, as well as an increasing proportion of natural brines.
• Produced water (or production brine)– Wastewater that flows to the surface during well production, reflecting
the chemistry and composition of deep formation waters. Brines vary from saline to hypersaline, can be up to 4 times saltier than seawater, and can contain toxic levels of contaminants such as benzene, barium, arsenic, and naturally occurring radioactive materials.
• Drill cuttings and drilling muds– Soil, rock, and other solid materials that are removed when a well is
drilled. Drilling muds are used to lubricate a drill bit and facilitate well drilling. These materials can contain contaminants that are present in the formation including benzene and naturally occurring radioactive materials.
• Fracking waste from Pennsylvania sent to New York for disposal– More than 500,000 tons and 23,000 barrels, and counting.– Based on information reported to the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection and made available via the PA DEP Oil & Gas Reporting Website.
• Waste from conventional, low-volume oil and gas extraction in New York– Though high-volume fracking is banned, New York must
dispose of waste from its conventional, low volume wells.– More than 12,000 active oil and natural gas production
wells in New York State as of 2013.
Hazardous waste loophole creates an uneven playing field for NY business
• Oil and gas industry waste excluded from hazardous waste definition:– “The following solid wastes are not hazardous wastes …
drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas.” 6 NYCRR § 371.1(e)(2)(v).
• Cushion for the oil and gas industry.– Industry escapes real costs of waste disposal.– Unfair advantage:
• Non exempt businesses could be held to tougher rules for waste disposal.
Disposal and reuse of oil and gas industry waste in NYS
• Several off-site reuse and disposal methods for waste from oil and natural gas extraction operations, including:– Landfill disposal
• Due to the hazardous waste loophole, solid waste management facilities in NY may accept fracking waste, regardless of whether it would meet the definition of hazardous waste.
– Wastewater treatment facilities• Landfill leachate can be sent to wastewater treatment facilities unequipped to
handle contaminants in fracking waste, which may then be discharged into receiving waters.
– Road spreading• Use of conventional, low-volume oil and gas extraction waste and natural gas
storage waste on roads for de-icing and dust control.• Waste spread on roads can run off into adjoining property and receiving
waters.
PA Unconventional Drilling Waste Disposal in NYS, 2011-14 By Karen Edelstein, FracTrackerhttp://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=8bd41c4a84e446269b8e4b136aa5b633
• NY landfills accepting PA waste:– Casella Waste Systems, Painted Post, NY (2010 –
present)– Chemung County Landfill, Lowman, NY (2010 –
present)– Hyland Facility Association, Angelica, NY (2010 – 2013)– Allied Waste Systems, Niagara Falls, NY (2010 – 2013)– Seneca Meadows Landfill, Waterloo, NY (2010 – 2011)– PA waste also sent to Environmental Products and
Services storage facility in Syracuse, NY (2013 – 2014)
• Landfill leachate sent to nearby wastewater treatment facilities
Use of production brine for road spreading
• With the required approval, production brine from conventional, low-volume fracking and brine from natural gas storage is currently allowed to be spread on New York roads for de-icing, dust control, and road stabilization purposes.
• Riverkeeper submitted Freedom of Information Law requests road spreading approvals granted from mid 2011 to early 2014.– Road spreading approved in portions of at least 41 municipalities in 9 western
New York counties: Wyoming, Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genessee, Niagara, Seneca, Allegany, and Steuben.
– New York State Department of Transportation Regions 4 and 6 have received approval to spread this brine on state roads in portions of 10 counties: Genessee, Orleans, Wyoming, Monroe, Livingston, Steuben, Allegany, Chemung, Schuyler, and Yates.
– Associated test results showed excessive levels of chloride (salts) in both natural gas production brine and brine from natural gas storage facilities. Presence of benzene and toluene in brine from oil production wells and natural gas storage.
Common Contaminants in Fracking Waste
• Chemical additives, such as ethylene glocol, napthalene, and sulfuric acid
• Metals and organic compounds• BTEX – benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene• Salts or total dissolved solids• NORM – naturally occurring radioactive materials• For further info:
– US Environmental Protection Agency– US Geological Survey– Environmental Health Perspectives– Natural Resources Defense Council
Potential impacts to worker health• Exposure to contaminants in fracking
waste could harm public health. For example:– Benzene: carcinogen, linked to blood
disorders such as anemia– Toluene: linked to nervous system, kidney,
and liver problems– Barium: linked to gastrointestinal
disturbances, muscle weakness, paralysis– NORM (radium-226, radium-228):
carcinogen, linked to blood disorders
• When workers are sick or worrying about a sick family members, productivity decreases and absenteeism increases, both of which are costly for businesses.
Risks to NY economic drivers• Prominent economic drivers include agriculture, tourism,
food and beverage production, and outdoor recreation– Clean water, air, and soil vital commodities– Improper reuse and disposal of fracking waste risks contaminating
soil and water resources – once contaminated, very difficult to reverse
– Report of livestock illness and death due to fracking fluid exposure • Mere presence of waste disposal near food and beverage
producers can threaten consumer confidence– Consumers questioning whether or not a product is safe can be
enough to cause damage – Consumers avoiding food from parts of PA– Concerns about use of fracking wastewater for irrigation in CA– Organic farm closed due to concerns about chemicals in fracking
waste
State and local level legislation
• State legislation:– Hazardous Waste Loophole Bill (S.884 /
A.6859)– Disposal Ban Bill (S.340 / A.130)– Road Spreading Ban Bill (S.48 / A.211)
• Local legislation:– At least 15 NY counties have banned
improper fracking waste reuse and/or disposal
– Bans in Albany, Rockland, Putnam, Westchester, Orange, Ulster, Oneida, Tompkins, Nassau, Suffolk, Erie, Onondaga, Schoharie, Clinton, Cayuga
– Riverkeeper model legislation
Take Action!
• Help us support passage of the Hazardous Waste Loophole Bill– Contact your state representative: Riverkeeper Action Alert– Write an op-ed in support of the bill
• Use information from Riverkeeper blog post• Contact Laura for help drafting and submitting
– Fracking Waste Wednesdays• This week: June 10• Use social media to express your support for closing the hazardous waste
loophole• #NoFrackWaste
• Support passage of a local ban in your community– Riverkeeper model ban and example county bans– Contact Misti with questions and requests for support
Questions?