When it came to the disposal of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the public and local governments became concerned — tales of miniature earthquakes and flammable tap water from other parts of the country stoke anxiety.
For instance, the Jones County Board of Commissioners in May passed a resolution urging the General Assembly to reject approval of the procedure.
Reportedly, plans were in the works to take wastewater from fracking operations in the Piedmont and inject it into wells deep underground in the Coastal Plain.
Now, as work continues toward lifting of the state’s moratorium on fracking in 2015, deep-well wastewater injection may not happen at all.
“The industry has very much matured their systems for managing both the flow-back waters and the produced waters that come out of these wells,” said Jim Womack, chairman of the state Mining and Energy Commission. “And depending on the well and the hydrogeology below the well, you’ll get back about 40 percent of the water that you’ll inject into that well for the purposes of well stimulation.”
He added, “The whole idea is very green in its orientation. The whole idea is to reuse the water, every drop of water that you’ve got — that you capture — back, don’t let any of it escape, reuse the same water for the same purpose in the future.”
The reusable “slick water” has led to some criticism — it carries with it a number of chemicals and minerals, including elevated levels of methane — but Eastern North Carolina would be unaffected. The most viable natural gas drilling sites are in Lee County and the surrounding area, dubbed the Sanford Basin.
When it comes to storage of the hydraulic fracturing liquid, Womack said the standard is to place it in a lined and monitored retaining pool, or large tanks — most of which would be above ground.
Ability to evaluate the condition of potentially affected streams and wetlands before drilling commences will depend on the budget of the state Division of Water Resources, which is undergoing reorganization.
The General Assembly cut about $2 million for water programs during the last session, and the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources decided recently to return grants from the federal Environmental Protection Administration of $222,595 and $359,710 that would have been used to study areas that may be affected.
The Mining and Energy Commission will be reviewing the rationale of making that decision at a Friday meeting.
DWR Director Tom Reeder said the reorganization — cutting about 70 employees — would save approximately $4 million, which would cover the budget cut and any studies. Also, he said, the division doesn’t have what it needs to assign scientists to conduct those studies currently. State officials need to know precisely where in the basin drilling will occur, what chemicals will be in the hydraulic fracturing water, and when the operation is planned to start.
“Any kind of baseline study has a shelf life associated with it,” Reeder said.” You wouldn’t want to do a study today on the watershed, and then have the fracturing start 10 years from now. Because that baseline data that you got this year would not still be the valid baseline data 10 years from now.”
When it’s time to do the studies, scientists will take reports of the chemicals used in the slick water and their concentration amounts, then conduct baseline levels of those chemicals already existing at the sites. That would allow proper comparisons later as to effects of the process.
N.C. Rep. George Graham, D-Lenoir, who voted against authorizing hydraulic fracturing in the past legislative session, said he feels better about it if deep-water injection wells aren’t part of the plan, but wants there to be an abundance of caution.
“I wouldn’t be quick to jump in that battle — I would want to make sure that we preserve what we have and then explore where we might be able to go,” Graham said.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @WolfeReports.