[All] Fracking Waste Produced Fluids Regulations in Ontario

[Peter Kofler]

Dear Mr. Shroff:
Thank you for your prompt reply. 
A few thoughts, if you'll allow me the liberty:
1. No disrespect intended, but isn't relying on CAPP for standards on disposal of produced fracking fluids a little like relying on the CAF (Canadian Association of Foxes) for setting guidelines on the protection of henhouses? The CAPP exists to promote the interests of petroleum and other fossil fuel producers, not groundwater. Where the need to maximize profits is paramount, it would seem interest in fossil fuel production doesn't substantially coincide with interest in ground- and surface water protection. Implicitly, you seem to be trusting that the interests of Big Fossil Fuel intersect sufficiently with those of Ontario citizens who prefer clean water (most of us, I would think).
2. You say: 
While there is no regulation to prohibit disposal of such fluids on Ontario roads, the ECO does not believe this practice to be happening in Ontario at this time;  to our knowledge, the main factor keeping this material from crossing the border is probably that long distance haulage of this wastewater wouldn’t make sense economically. 
Have you actually done a cost/benefit analysis to support the above statement? Disposal costs of other known hazardous chemicals show very perverse economics can come into play. For example, for fluorosilicic acid, a toxic byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production (mostly based in Florida):
Fluoridation
Chemicals are classified as a Hazardous Waste by the US EPA and Environment Canada.
As such they may not be put directly into our lakes, rivers, oceans. They
contain between 20 to 30% hydrofluorosilicic acid (inorganic fluoride), trace
amounts of arsenic, lead, mercury, radionuclides and other heavy metals +
70-80% of unidentified solution. (AWWA B703-06) 
the economics work out as follows:
@$1,000/ton (Hamilton Board of
Health July 9, 2008) fluoridation chemicals cost Ontario taxpayers about
$3,300,000 each year. Over 10 years, Ontario taxpayers pay about $30 million
dollars for the disposal of these hazardous wastes into our drinking water.@$7,000/ton for the safe removal
of these hazardous wastes (source: Dr. W. Hirzy, senior US EPA chemist)
fluoridation chemicals save polluting industries about $22,100,000 each year.
In other words, simply reformulating fluorosilicic acid (scrubber liquor toxic waste from the phosphate fertilizer industry) into hydrofluorosilicic acid and rebranding it as "water fluoridation chemical", the fertilizer industry was able to avoid $7000/ton disposal costs (2006 costs). That would pay for a very generous amount of haulage fees, were similar economics to apply to, for example, the disposal of fracking fluids on our roads, parking lots or other paved/unpaved surfaces. 
Taking into account the fact that the recent oversupply of fracked shale gas on the market helps create incentives for the "creative" disposal of fracking produced fluids (rebranded as brine fluids, perhaps), is your assertion of economic unfeasibility due to "long distance haulage of wastewater" costs overly optimistic? I would also question your definition of "long distance hauling": Michigan and New York are states bordering Ontario and Ohio & Pennsylvania are right across Lake Erie (approx. 80 km from Ontario shores).
On the positive side, your office has included review of the sufficiency of the Ontario regulatory frameworks regarding shale gas extraction, as they apply to water and the natural environment, as a recommendation in your annual report. Hopefully the MNR and MOE are able to expedite action in the form of specific regulations.
I thank you again for this information and appreciate the work your office is doing.
Regards,
Peter KoflerSubject: RE: Fracking Waste Produced Fluids Regulations in Ontario
Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:39:43 -0400
From: commissioner at eco.on.ca
To: sustainab at hotmail.com



 Dear Mr. Kofler; Thank you for your email regarding your concerns regarding fracking waste fluids. As you may know, the recent Annual Report of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO),  Engaging Solutions, contained an article on this very topic sharing the information we have on this issue. The article can be found at the following link: http://www.ecoissues.ca/index.php/Shale_Gas_and_Hydraulic_Fracking As you will note, in that document, the ECO made a recommendation to the government as follows: Recommendation 10:The ECO recommends that MNR and MOE review and publicly report on the sufficiency of the regulatory framework to protect water resources and the natural environment from shale gas extraction.  While there is no regulation to prohibit disposal of such fluids on Ontario roads, the ECO does not believe this practice to be happening in Ontario at this time;  to our knowledge, the main factor keeping this material from crossing the border is probably that long distance haulage of this wastewater wouldn’t make sense economically. For your reference, it may interest you to view the following link from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)’s website to at least gain familiarity with the Canadian Industry’s best practice guidelines: http://www.capp.ca/canadaIndustry/naturalGas/ShaleGas/Documents/natural-gas-operating-practice-6.pdf  As noted in the document, CAPP and its member companies are committed to reducing the risk associated with fracking by: • Following applicable regulatory requirements for fluid storage.• Safely disposing of fluids that are no longer needed at approved waste management facilities, includingdisposal wells.• All road transportation of fracturing fluids, produced water, flowback and fracturing fluid waste will conformto the applicable federal, provincial and municipal regulations, including Transportation of DangerousGoods (TDG) regulations where required.  It might also interest you to review the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) Water Management Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing document to learn about guidelines that are used in the US.  API standards are very important in industry.  Although this is only a guidance document, it provides an overview of the various options producers can take with handling water that resurfaces; as stated within “The purpose of this guidance document is to identify and describe many of the current industry best practices used to minimize environmental impacts associated with the acquisition, use, management, treatment, and disposal of water and other fluids associated with the process of hydraulic fracturing.” I hope this information proves useful and gives you appropriate sources to further your research. Regards,  Yazmin Shroff Public Information & Outreach OfficerEnvironmental Commissioner of Ontario1075 Bay St., Suite 605Toronto, ON M5S 2B1T: 416.325.0118 F: 416.325.3370E: yazmin.shroff at eco.on.ca  The ECO wants to hear your stories about energy conservation!Visit us online at www.ontarioenergyconservation.ca and contribute to the discussion.  From: Peter Kofler [mailto:sustainab at hotmail.com] 
Sent: March-20-12 6:09 PM
To: commissioner at eco.on.ca
Subject: Fracking Waste Produced Fluids Regulations in Ontario Dear Sir: Interesting article on fracking by Bill McKibben. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/mar/08/why-not-frack/The following excerpted lines caught my attention, which might be pertinent to our region: A second concern has to do with the damage being done to rivers and streams—and the water supply for homes and industries—by the briny soup that pours out of the fracking wells in large volume. Most of the chemical-laced slick water injected down the well will stay belowground, but for every million gallons, 200,000 to 400,000 gallons will be regurgitated back to the surface, bringing with it, McGraw writes,

not only the chemicals it included in the first place, but traces of the oil-laced drilling mud, and all the other noxious stuff that was already trapped down there in the rock: iron and chromium, radium and salt—lots of salt. Some enterprising drilling companies have, Urbina wrote, “found ready buyers [for wastewater] in communities that spread it on roads for de-icing in the winter and for dust suppression in the summer. When ice melts or rain falls, the waste can run off roads and end up in the drinking supply.” Do you know if there are local safeguards against "enterprising drilling companies" or intermediaries selling drilling wastewater/frackwash to regional procurement people/snow removal operators/dust control service contractors under some presumably environmentally benign or techno-obfuscatory name like "brine fluids", probably at really reasonable prices? Ontario is close enough to New York State, Pennsylvania, Michigan and other states where fracking is currently practiced to serve as a potentially witting/unwitting disposal market for this probable toxic waste.  I suspect there are no current regulations dealing with the so-called fracking industry "produced fluids". What with Michigan gearing up to frack the Antrim Shale into a condition reminiscent of swiss cheese, wouldn't the above-described contamination scenario be probable and possible and therefore, isn't there a need to develop enforcible regulations for Ontario that are at least equivalent to best management practices and hopefully better? I would appreciate your advice/opinion on this matter at your earliest convenience.  Regards, Peter Kofler
 		 	   		  
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