I blogged recently about some of the issues around shale gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing (fracking). In the last year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has undertaken to study the impact of shale gas extraction on drinking water.
The EPA has just announced a schedule to develop standards for wastewater discharges produced by natural gas extraction from shale formations. The EPA intends to begin the process of developing a proposed national standard. Currently, it is illegal to dump wastewater associated with shale gas extraction into waterways and other waters of the U.S. Some of the wastewater from shale gas extraction can be reused, but a significant amount still requires disposal. Shale gas wastewater is often transported to treatment plants which are not equipped to treat this type of wastewater.
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