Pa. wants to end gas-drilling wastewater discharge

Pa. wants to end gas-drilling wastewater discharge by Times-Herald Record, April 20, 2011
New tests show elevated levels of bromide in western Pennsylvania rivers, the agency said. “Now is the time to take action to end this practice,” acting Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer said in a statement Tuesday. Bromide is a salt that reacts with the chlorine disinfectants used by drinking water systems and creates trihalomethanes, which have been linked to cancer when given in high doses to laboratory animals. There is scientific uncertainty as to whether the low levels of trihalomethanes sometimes found in chlorinated drinking water have any potential to cause cancer, liver or central nervous system damage in humans. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided that there is enough concern to label the contaminants a potential hazard, and limit the amount of the substance allowed in drinking water. … Pennsylvania’s former Gov. Tom Ridge, an adviser to the industry group, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, encouraged companies to fall in line, and said that if it’s more expensive, then “so be it.” “If it’s not mandated, it should be,” Ridge told The Associated Press. “I would encourage them to comply as soon as possible, and tomorrow’s not a bad time to start.”
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“While there are several possible sources for bromide other than shale drilling wastewater, we believe that if operators would stop giving wastewater to facilities that continue to accept it under the special provision, bromide concentrations would quickly and significantly decrease,” Krancer said in the statement. Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said Tuesday her organization came to the conclusion that it is partly responsible for higher bromide levels after seeing research from VanBriesen’s team and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.