Health

Eighteen Democratic state legislators in Colorado earlier this month sent a letter to the state’s top public health and environmental scientist, questioning a report released in February that concluded there are few health risks for people living near oil and natural gas drilling sites.

California’s largest underground natural gas storage facility north of Los Angeles on Tuesday continued to be lambasted by residents and local government officials who told a state legislative hearing in Sacramento that the facility is unsafe, still leaks constantly and is the cause of continuing health problems for nearby residents of an upscale housing development.

A new study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found a statistical link between unconventional oil and gas drilling in Pennsylvania and an increased risk of flare-ups in asthma patients.

Colorado oil/natural gas producers found a lot to like in a new West Slope air quality study released on Tuesday by researchers at Colorado State University (CSU). It follows bullish new reserve estimates for the Piceance Basin (see Shale Daily,June 8).

The Railroad Commission of Texas(RRC) said in a newnoticethat it will use the minor permit process under the commission’s Statewide Rule 8 (Water Protection) to consider applications for permits to recycle treated domestic wastewater and waste streams from mobile drinking water systems at drill sites. An RRC minor permit will be required for surface application, such as dust suppression for drill pads or roads and for controlled (non-atomized) irrigation, for treated fluids. A minor permit will also be required for downhole uses of treated domestic wastewater. No RRC permit is required if wastewater from a mobile drinking water treatment system is used downhole as make-up water for drilling fluid after surface casing for a well has been set through the base of usable quality water. No permit is required for recycling mobile drinking wastewater for use as make-up water for cement and for make-up water for hydraulic fracturing fluid. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has jurisdiction over the treatment of water that will be used for drinking water, other potable uses, and potable delivery. TCEQ also has jurisdiction over mobile potable water treatment units operated at drill sites, such as mobile drinking water treatment systems and over the transportation of domestic waste and wastewater.

As state authorities investigate what went wrong and whether the Aliso Canyon underground natural gas storage facility should be reactivated, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) on Wednesday stressed the storage facility’s essential role in ensuring future reliability of the region’s natural gas service. It committed to meeting new testing requirements for all storage wells at the 3,600-acre field.

One of nine recommendations from a statewide local issues task force — a new oil/natural gas health information and response program — has started in Colorado, and state health officials have handled 20 complaints thus far.

North Dakota said a pipeline transporting wastewater from oil and natural gas drilling was damaged and leaked nearly 19,000 gallons of brine in Divide County.

A leading Pennsylvania state senator is once again seeking co-sponsors for a bill that would create a long-considered Marcellus Shale Health Advisory Panel to study the impacts of the unconventional natural gas industry and help inform public policy decisions.