detected in some finished drinking water during the drought. “The high Br DBPs were associated with the high TDS. The bromide in the water production ramps up, millions of The Pennsylvania Department of wasn’t measured, and we don’t gallons of water will need to be Environmental Protection (PA know the source,“ says water engitreated each day. DEP) is working to regulate salt neer Jeanne VanBriesen at Carnegie Too much chloride makes water discharges that result from natuMellon University. “It’s likely that taste bad, damages cooling equipral-gas drilling. The move is a redrilling is the source, because the ment and water heaters, and impacts sponse to a statewide increase in Marcellus Shale is a marine formaaquatic life. But table salt and other drilling and to water pollution in tion with high chloride and bromide, salts dissolve so easily and comthe fall of 2008 that affected a 70and bromide is low in abanmile stretch of the doned-mine drainage. But Monongahela River, the we need to do the research.” drinking-water source for In April, PA DEP released more than 300,000 people “Permitting Strategy for High living near Pittsburgh. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) High levels of total disWastewater Discharges”, solved solids (TDS), inwhich proposes standards cluding chloride and for pipe-end discharges of sulfate, threaten many 500 milligrams per liter for other Pennsylvania waterTDS and 250 milligrams per ways, according to PA liter each for chlorides and DEP. But many gas and sulfates. These figures come business interests say the from EPA’s secondary stanproposal is a poorly tardards for drinking water. geted overreaction. “DEP doesn’t realize how Pennsylvania is at the Water impoundment in western Pennsylvania near the many businesses will be afheart of the latest naturalgas boom. In 2008, the state Monongahela River, where brine disposal has been linked to fected by these limits,” says elevated levels of DBPs in drinking water. environmental lawyer Joel issued permits for more than Bolstein. “They need to find 500 deep natural-gas wells, a way to target Marcellus activities pletely into water that they are diffiand drilling companies are leasing without deterring economic growth.” cult and expensive to remove. mineral rights for hundreds more. In contrast, the Delaware River has Current methods are limited to reThe Marcellus Shale, which lies looser TDS standards; even so, those verse osmosis, membrane filtration, about one mile underneath most of limits impact pharmaceutical manuand evaporation. In addition, most Pennsylvania and parts of New York, facturers, power plants, landfill water treatment facilities are not West Virginia, and Ohio, is estimated leachate, and some wastewater treatequipped to treat drilling wastewater, to be the third-largest natural-gas ment plants, according to Delaware which can contain up to 20% field in the world, according to geRiver Basin Commission engineer chloride. ologist Terry Engelder of PennsylvaChad Pindar. Pennsylvania’s legacy of coal minnia State University. That gargantuan Paul Hart, president of Pennsylvaing exacerbates the situation: drainresource could provide enough natunia Brine Treatment, Inc., a comage from abandoned mines has left ral gas to ease the transition away pany that treats drilling wastewater, many rivers with relatively high levels from fossil fuels and make the U.S. opposes the proposed strategy, callof sulfate. During last fall’s drought, competitive with Russia as a naturaling it an overreaction. For the TDS levelssmainly sulfate, but with gas supplier. Monongahela River, “the majority of some chlorideson the Monongahela To reach the gas, a deep producthe problem was sulfates, which are River reached 900 parts per million, tion well that branches out horizonnot significant in oil and gas wastealmost twice as high as the U.S. Entally must be drilled, and then over waters,” he says. “Industry recogvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) one million gallons of water, plus nizes that salt will have to be standard, according to Teresa Canadditives and sand, are injected at removed from some of the water dori of PA DEP. high pressure to fracture the rock that is disposed, but figuring out At the same time, levels of bromi(Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 10.1021/ how to do it will take several years.” nated disinfection byproducts (Br es802190h). The water pumped out DBPs) increased in some systems. Br of the well carries the additives and —REBECCA RENNER DBPs, which pose a greater health brines that were trapped in the forrisk than chlorinated DBPs, made up mation, along with low levels of metmore than 90% of the byproducts als, sulfides, and radioactivity. As DONNAN.COM
Pennsylvania to regulate salt discharges
6120 9 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / August 15, 2009
10.1021/es901934m
2009 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 07/08/2009
