Quality of Life in the Water
DEP Proposal on Total Dissolved Solids Bodes Well for Future
Regulations
Morgantown Dominion Post Editorial
24 May 2010
House Bill 4513 looked to be water under the bridge in the closing
minutes of this year’s regular legislative session in March.
That bill required an accounting for the use and disposal of Marcellus
shale gas-well water. A similar measure, which would have regulated
total dissolved solids (TDS) in state waterways, met a similar fate in
committee. Many lawmakers went home to their constituents with only
promises that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
would draft regulations mirroring the failed legislation.
Most of us didn’t think those promises would hold water. But late last
week, one of the state’s most controversial regulatory agencies
actually delivered, with three proposed water-quality standards it will
present to legislators in January 2011.
These proposals will also be filtered through a 45-day public comment
period and a review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Though some may say that this issue is nothing new, we would disagree.
The growing numbers of Marcellus shale gas-drilling operations and the
resultant mix of wastewater associated with this process are relatively
new in this region.
Obviously, the dissolved solids in such wastewater can also be found in
other sources, including coal mines.
The greatest task facing us is weighing how to allow the industry to
operate without contaminating our waterways.
We are relieved to see that the legal limits for TDS set by the DEP are
stringent, going beyond Pennsylvania’s, which are the same as the DEP’s
proposal, but are only required at intake pipes for drinking water
systems.
The alarm over water quality intensified locally last fall when almost
all aquatic life in Dunkard Creek died as a result of a golden algae
bloom, which was an outgrowth of the TDS in the water. Another incident
in late 2008 resulted in communities along the Monongahela River in
Pennsylvania complaining of foul tasting and smelling drinking water.
A WVU institute has also begun keeping close tabs on the water quality
of the Monongahela and its tributaries to determine how Marcellus shale
gas drilling and other industrial activity is affecting the river.
One DEP official told The Associated Press that the goal is to keep all
the state’s waterways “suitable for consumption by our citizens and use
by our industries.”
We applaud this approach. Businesses and communities must realize that
tapping into our state’s water quality is important, and not just from
a public relations position.
Ultimately, our quality of life flows from our waterways.