EPA Researches Possible Impacts of Hydrofracking on Drinking Water

Thanks to advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies, the U.S. now has access to immense reserves of natural gas. While the proper development of this resource offers numerous benefits for our country, it has also become clear that as the use of hydrofracking has gone up, so has the concern about its possible health and environmental impacts, particularly on drinking water.

I recently came across the report that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released in December 2012 in response to this concern, Study of the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources. Its purpose is to determine and examine the possible impacts of hydrofracking on our drinking water, and to identify what exactly causes these impacts.

The EPA’s research set out to answer questions that focus on the five stages of the hydrofracking water cycle: water acquisition, chemical mixing, well injection, flowback and produced water, and wastewater treatment and waste disposal. The report describes the progress made as of September 2012 on 18 research projects, and covers research activities such as laboratory studies, toxicity assessments, and case studies.

With drinking water being at the top of the list of precious resources, this is yet another reminder that hydrofracking must be engaged in responsibly, and that it is important for energy companies to be transparent in the management of their data. For that reason, Locus has developed a special functionality within its award-winning SaaS application EIM to help upstream divisions of oil and gas companies better manage and account for their data associated with hydrofracking.

EPA Updates Rules to Reduce Air Pollution from Stationary Engines

Starting off the year of air with a bang, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized revisions to standards to reduce air pollution. Specifically, pollution from stationary engines that generate electricity, and power equipment at industrial, agricultural, oil and gas production, power generation and other facilities.

These revisions were made to the 2010 “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE)” rules. The updated rule will reduce the capital and annual costs of the original rules by hundreds of millions of dollars, and also reduce air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds by thousands of tons.

This is extremely important because the pollution emitted from these engines can cause serious health defects. The updates were meant to make the standards both reachable and cost-effective while reducing emissions, and the EPA estimates the updated standards will be worth $830 million to $2.1 billion in annual health benefits.

Saluting 2013, the Year of Air

In the past few years the focus has been on energy and water, and now in 2013 it will be on clean air. Being recognized predominantly in Europe, the ‘Year of Air’ will shine the spotlight on air pollution and emissions: an area where some progress has been made, but also where an immense problem still exists.

With air pollution being the main cause behind debilitating lung conditions, and even death, it is imperative that we take the necessary steps in order to improve our air quality. After all, it is mostly a result of human activities and man-made apparatus. The mission behind the year of air is for there to be a general focus on understanding the health effects of air pollution, its main causes, and what can be done to cut back on pollution and improve the quality of our air.

One necessary step in supporting this focus on clean air is for organizations to properly manage their emission inventory. Especially in 2013, companies must do their part to ensure they stay in compliance with regulations, and show they are not negatively affecting air quality. Locus’ Air and Greenhouse Gases module within ePortal software assists companies in managing emission inventory and permit compliance programs. Users are able to easily collect, calculate, compare, and report on their emissions data all in one centralized system.