Companies aim to release more treated oilfield wastewater into rivers and streams

Schwartzreport · 2 years ago · 168 views

Martha Pskowski and Dylan Baddour,  Staff Writers  -  Texas Tribune | Inside Climate News Stephan: This is what greed for profit above all other considerations looks like, and it pretty much defines the carbon industries. We are not going to be able to deal effectively with climate change as long as corporations like the two reported on in this article are allowed to continue as they do now. Unfortunately, neither the EPA, the states or the Congress is really willing to take on corporate greed, since it finances so many politicians. “Companies aim to release more treated oilfield wastewater into rivers and streams” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. These days the Pecos River barely fills its dry, sandy bed where it crosses West Texas, but the river could be poised to flow again — with treated oilfield wastewater. Companies are racing to figure out what to do with the tremendous volume of noxious water that comes up from underground during oil and gas drilling in the Permian Basin, but a growing cohort of companies say they’ve developed a means to purify that fluid and release it in the Pecos and other watersheds. “This is new ground for all of us and we know it’s got to be done the right way,” said Robert Crain, executive vice president of Texas Pacific Water Resources, a company seeking to discharge treated water. “We’re not the only folks that are [...]