WIS EA UBF 3 7600 0OO20 2047 Illinois Oil Field Brine Disposal Assessment ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANNING Staff Report LA* /.•:•<.<?.v 8 EMVIRO ; ' iTALfRHTECTION AGENCY STAlybr ILLINOIS SPRfNj&FflELDJLLJNOiS V P ILLINOIS OIL FIELD BRINE DISPOSAL ASSESSMENT STAFF REPORT ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 208 WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANNING PROGRAM ^ - PLANNING AND STANDARDS SECTION ->* DIVISION OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL m , 2200 CHURCHILL ROAD * " SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 62706 NOVEMBER, 1978 P •; r-'^m^^Y EI\Vll?ON(.r£hTALPROiECTiON.AGENCY STATE Or ILLINOIS -i SPRINGFIELDfILLlNOIS TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES 111 LIST OF FIGURES iv LIST OF PLATES .. v LIST OF APPENDICES vi Chapter FOREWORD vii INTRODUCTION 1 Initial Inquiries and Study Objectives 1 Origin of Oil Field Brine. .| 3 Oil Production ,. , 6 Fluid Injection 6 Brine Pollution 11 FIELD INVESTIGATIONS 21 Criteria 21 Location and Study of Sites 22 Investigative Procedures 23 Field Conditions 34 Evaporation/Seepage Pits 34 Injection Operations 40 Abandoned Wells 44 PRELIMINARY FINDINGS 46 PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS 48 GLOSSARY 49 REFERENCES 51 APPENDICES 53 n LIST OF TABLES Table Page I. Comparison of Sea Water and Oil Field Brine 4 II. IPCB Water Quality Standards 11 III. Average Concentrations of the Major Chemical Constituents From Each Piezometer and Pit 31 m LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Geologic Structure of the Illinois Basin ... 5 2. Oil Production in Illinois 7 3. Isocon Map of Ste. Genevieve Brines & 4. Generalized Movement of Water in the Vicinity of Holding Ponds 13 5. Location Map of Study Sites. 24 6. Generalized Location of Hagarstown Member of the Glasford Formation ... 25 7. Electrode Spacing for Measuring Electrical Earth Resistivity Using a Wenner Configuration . 27 8. Relationship of Resistance and Connate Water Salinity . 28 9. Relationship of Apparent Resistivity and Filtered Chloride Concentration 32 10. Relationship of Apparent Resistivity and Unfiltered Chloride Concentration 33 11. Map of Net Annual Evaporation in Inches 36 12. Common Injection Installations ^ 13. Pollution of a Fresh Water Aquifer Through a Failed Injection Casing 43 14. Pollution of a Fresh Water Aquifer Through Abandoned Wells 45 IV LIST OF PLATES Plate page 1. Christian County Study Site 15 2. Bond County Study Site 16 3. Effingham-Fayette County Study Site 17 4. Clay County Study Site 18 5. Clay County Study Site (Oblique Aerial) 19 6. Brine Pit Overflow 37 7. Stream Pollution from Brine Runoff 38 8. Vegetation Kill from Brine Runoff .... 39 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix page A. Problem Report Form 53 B. Selected Samples of Previously Completed E.E.R. Studies 58 C. Christian County E.E.R. and Water Table Maps- Lithologic and Gamma Ray Logs 76 D. Bpnd County E.E.R. and Water Table Maps- Lithologic and Gamma Ray Logs 86 E. Effingham-Fayette County E.E.R. and Water Table Maps- Lithologic and Gamma Ray Logs 96 F. Clay County E.E.R. and Water Table Maps- Lithologic and Gamma Ray Logs 106 vr FOREWORD The study described within was initiated January, 1978 as part of the statewide 208 Water Quality Management Planning Program. Funding was provided in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under provisions of Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (PL 92-500), as amended. Contractual assistance was provided by the Illinois State Geological Survey (I.S.G.S.). Particular recognition should be given to Mr. George Lane of the Department of Mines and Minerals for his substantial cooperation and assistance in this effort, to Mr. Philip Reed of the I.S.G.S. for assisting in the acquisition, compilation and interpretation of field data, and also to Mr. Craig Murphy of Northern Illinois University for technical assistance and his many hours of fieldwork expended throughout the summer. VI1 INTRODUCTION This study of environmental problems related to oil field brine disposal in Illinois began in January 1978, as part of the Illinois statewide 208 water quality management planning program, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 1979. The preliminary findings and recommendations contained herein are based on information collected and analyzed through August 1978. The format reflects the approach taken in gaining an understanding of brine related problems and in developing recommendations for their abatement. A glossary of terms appearing in this report is provided at the end of the text. Initial Inquiries and Study Objectives The oil field brine disposal study was initiated by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) after receiving several complaints from affected landowners concerning contaminated water supplies and damaged land. The majority of complaints initially received were channeled through the public participation Regional Advisory Committee serving the southeast central portion of the state. To obtain further information on brine disposal, "Problem Report Forms" were made available to interested citizens. These forms were designed to provide preliminary estimates of the areal extent and nature of problems commonly associated with brine disposal operations. Subsequent press releases soliciting the help of concerned citizens generated considerable interest, resulting in the submission to the Agency of 16 completed forms. An example of the circulated form appears in Appendix A. The information thus collected helped provide the basis for initial investigations described in this report. Major objectives outlined for the study included: 1. Providing an assessment of the nature and extent of environmental problems emanating from oil field brine disposal practices in Illinois. 2. Conducting a detailed field study of more specific problems related to brine disposal, in particular the subsurface migration of chloride bearing waters. 3. Providing an assessment of the efficacy of the rules and regulations governing the disposal of oil field brines in Illinois. Information on regional geology, soil types and hydrogeology of the affected areas, as well as information on contaminant characteristics were obtained by researching previous work. It was found that a great amount of information on Illinois oil field brine and brine disposal had been compiled by the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS). To employ this expertise, the Agency entered Into a contract with the ISGS for a detailed field investigation of four typical brine disposal sites in south central and southeast central Illinois. The primary purpose of the field study was to develop a reliable and convenient methodology for identification of chloride concentrations in water-bearing earth materials. Twenty-three piezometers were installed during the months of June and July 1978 to facilitate development of a relationship between ground water quality (chloride concentration) and apparent resistivity. Geologic descriptions of the sites, cross sections with gamma logs, and water level maps from piezometer observations were also developed to aid in the assessment of oil field brine disposal pollution problems. Origin of Oil Field Brine Identifying the origin of brine in the Illinois Basin is a complex problem. Researchers have yet to agree upon a solution. Details of the more widely accepted hypotheses are technically far beyond the scope of this report. However, for descriptive purposes, the most simplistic hypothesis will be presented here. It proposes a derivation from original sea water with a minor contribution of fresh water (Graf et al. 1966). Even though the brines originated from sea water initially incorporated in the sediment, subsequent compaction and chemical alteration resulted in concentration of the constituents. For comparative purposes, the surface water closest in composition to these subsurface brines is that of the present day Dead Sea. Table I provides a comparison of the common constituents and typical concentrations of sea water and oil field brine (Reid et al., 1974). Table I. Comparison of Sea Water and Oil Field Brine Sea Water Oil Field Brine (mg/1) (mq/1) Na+1 10,600 12,000-150,000 K+l 400 30 - 4,000 Ca+2 400 1,000-120,000 Mg+2 1,300 500- 25,000 * Cl-1 19,000 20,000-250,000 Br-1 65 50 - 5,000 1-1 0.05 1 - 300 HCO3I — 0 - 1,200 * S0|2 2,700 0 - 3,600 As indicated in Table I, brine salinity is primarily a function of the sulfates (SO42), bicarbonates (HCO31), and chlorides (Cl-1) 0f the cations sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca+2) and magnesium (Mg+2) (Reid et al., 1974). As a point of reference, the maximum allowable concentration for both chloride and sulfate in ground water, as set by the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB, 1977),.is 250 milligrams per liter (mg/1). A feature of the underlying geology known as the Illinois Basin covers approximately 135,000 square miles of the south central and southeastern portions of the state and extends into southwestern Indiana and western Kentucky (Figure 1). Most of Illinois oil and brine production is concentrated along structural features within the basin c* Contour, interval 500 ft. ... Pennsylvanian outcrop ^ Mississippi Embayment Figure 1.—Geologic structure of Illinois basin drawn on base of New Albany black shale (from Meents et al., 1952) (Figure 2), although reef deposits also act as reservoirs for hydrocarbons. Studies on the concentrations of total solids present in Illinois Basin brine reveal that the greatest concentrations are centrally located within the Basin. As reported by Meents and others (1952), concentrations diminish radially outward and seem to conform to the contours of the Basin. Figure 3 displays the distribution of concentrations found in samples retrieved from the Ste. Genevieve formation. Total solids in other basin formations vary slightly but all seem to exhibit similar structural dependencies. Oil Production The first oil fields of Illinois were discovered around 1903 in Lawrence and Crawford Counties along the La Salle Anticlinal Belt. Since the period of peak production from these oil fields in 1910, annual production has fluctuated drastically with changes in economy and technology.