State regulators approved an energy company’s request to inject millions of gallons of oil and gas wastewater into a freshwater aquifer in central Wyoming!!!
Whaaaaat?
O&G wastewater (aka produced water) has heavy metals, organic hydrocarbons, chemicals, salt and more in it that can cause birth defects and a whole host of health problems. It’s so toxic that New Mexico is considering making it illegal to spill this hazardous soup.
The Casper Star Tribune reports that the produced water would only be allowed into an aquifer that “cannot now and will not in the future serve as a source of drinking water because it is situated at a depth or location which makes recovery of water for drinking water purposes economically or technologically impractical.” But – does this make sense? We are running out of fresh water here in the West. Pretty soon it’s not going to matter how expensive it is to get at fresh water in an aquifer – we’ll have to do it. And, if they can pump toxic wastewater into an aquifer, they certainly ought to be able to get fresh water out of it. Wastewater disposal is becoming an increasingly hotly debated subject.
But the problem for O&G operators, and the environment alike could be solved with treatment/cleaning of that wastewater for reuse onsite or for agricultural use. Technology like that offered by IX Power Clean Water can treat this wastewater efficiently and for less cost than injection disposal. Learn more: StartEngine.com/ix-water