Wastewater management continues to be the focal point of the debate over Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania.

Following a series of critical articles in the New York Times that accused the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) of not effectively regulating radium in wastewater disposal from shale wells, the DEP released testing results last week from seven Pennsylvania rivers showing radioactivity levels at or below “background levels (see NGI, March 7).”

“Here are the facts: all samples were at or below background levels of radioactivity; and all samples showed levels below the federal drinking water standard for radium 226 and 228,” acting DEP Secretary Michael Krancer wrote in a statement last Monday. Radioactivity occurs naturally in some underground rock formations, but can be harmful to human and animal health.

Those positive test results alleviated concerns about local drinking water supplies, but didn’t erase them.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) threatened to take over monitoring and enforcement in Pennsylvania if the DEP didn’t step its efforts by immediately testing all community water systems in Marcellus Shale country for radionuclides.

“I stand ready to provide EPA’s support and to utilize our federal authorities to require drinking water and wastewater monitoring if that becomes necessary,” EPA Region 3 Administrator Shawn Garvin wrote to Krancer, also on Monday. “In addition, EPA is prepared to exercise its enforcement authorities as appropriate where our investigations reveal violations of federal law.”

Garvin also suggested that the EPA plans to beef up its underground injection well program in Pennsylvania. With more injection wells, Pennsylvania drillers could bury wastewater rather than treat it. Pennsylvania currently has a scarcity of these wells.

Even after DEP released its results, the calls for increased testing have been nearly unanimous.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition announced a new $100,000 fund to support water testing near Marcellus Shale development. The industry advocacy group also said it wanted to start an Energy Research Collaborative from academia, government, industry and other stakeholder groups to focus on “areas in need of more fact-based investigation” starting with radioactivity in wastewater.

The Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR), part of the Cooperative Extension at Penn State University, called for treatment facilities that process wastewater from Marcellus Shale drilling operations and for public water systems with intakes located downstream from those facilities to start routinely monitoring drinking water supplies for radioactivity and other pollutants.

MCOR also launched an “independent, comprehensive analysis” of the potential for flowback waters from natural gas drilling operations to impact water quality in the state. The results of that study will eventually be made public, MCOR said.

However, MCOR tried to temper concerns by offering perspective on the New York Times coverage.

MCOR noted that the articles compared levels of radionuclides in Marcellus Shale wastewater samples to EPA drinking water standards, but didn’t note that the wastewater was not used for drinking water. The MCOR also said the articles didn’t consider several “crucial variables” for determining whether radionuclides concentrations harmed water quality, such as “the initial concentrations in the flowback water, the treatment removal efficiency, and the level of dilution by the receiving stream.”

In response to the articles, the Pennsylvania American Water Co. and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority both announced plans to voluntarily test drinking water sources following the publication of the articles.

The stories reverberated in the Pennsylvania General Assembly as well.

State Rep. Camille George (D-74) of Clearfield County said he plans to introduce legislation that would require facilities to test for radioactivity before and after treatment, and before water is released into drinking water supplies. The testing would be paid for by the natural gas industry and conducted by an independent firm. State Rep. Phyllis Mundy (D-Luzerne) announced plans to introduce legislation that would designate wastewater from natural gas drilling operations as hazardous waste under the state’s Vehicle Code. The designation sets out guidelines for how dangerous materials are labeled and handled.

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