The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has announced the latest draft revisions of the Environmental Protection Performance Standards at Oil and Gas Well Sites.
Acting DEP secretary John Quigley says the proposed rules enable drilling while protecting the environment.
The proposed amendments to Chapter 78 address surface activities at oil and gas well sites. The specific proposed changes would:
The proposed amendments will be discussed at the upcoming meetings of the Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board (TAB) and Conventional Oil and Gas Advisory Committee (COGAC), which is in formation, in late March.
Following these advisory committee meetings, the proposed amendments will be opened for a 30-day public comment period April 4.
Oil and gas drillers in Pennsylvania are finding it increasingly difficult to find disposal sites for their radioactive waste, according to a Power Source article published last fall.
In the first half of this year, 421 trucks carrying oil and gas waste tripped radiation alarms at Pennsylvania landfills, and last year 1,015 loads set off the alarms, up slightly from 2012, according to the state DEP.
Photo Credit: drill rig via Shutterstock