Prepared in cooperation with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Potential Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate, a Major Constituent of Produced Waters from Coalbed Natural Gas Production, on Aquatic Life Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5008 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Photogragh showing Beaver Creek inflow to Powder River, Montana. Photograph showing the greening of vegetation as a result of water inputs in the arid region (Lower Beaver Creek, Wyoming). Cover Photograph Index The Potential Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate, a Major Constituent of Produced Waters from Coalbed Natural Gas Production, on Aquatic Life Edited by Aïda M. Farag and David D. Harper Prepared in cooperation with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5008 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia K. McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2012 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Farag, A.M., and Harper, D.D., eds, 2012, The potential effects of sodium bicarbonate, a major constituent from coal- bed natural gas production, on aquatic life: U.S. Geological Survey, Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5008, 101 p. iii Acknowledgments The research described in this report was a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. Thanks to the many others from within and out- side of these agencies that participated in the effort. Connie Boese, University of Wyoming, and staff at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services performed chemical measurements. Review comments from Dr. Will Cle- ments, Colorado State University, and J. Russell Hockett, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, improved the report. Cathy Eakin, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, provided technical assis- tance in the field and with laboratory experiments performed in Montana. Elizabeth MacCon- nell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided histology analyses. Dr. Joseph Meyer, University of Wyoming, provided input and consultation during initial study designs. Brady Morris, University of Wyoming provided technical assistance with the fathead minnow laboratory experiments and with the presence/absence field work. The crew of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Jackson National Fish Hatchery, assisted with maintaining cultured organisms in Jackson, Wyoming. Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff provided sturgeon for experiments. Montana Depart- ment of Environmental Quality provided review comments on the draft report. Collaboration with Dave Zaft and additional staff from the Wyoming Game and Fish, Fisheries Research Unit, was instrumental in completion of the presence/absence surveys. The field experiments could not have been conducted without the assistance of the Wyoming Game and Fish Administration and Permitting Office who worked beyond traditional business hours to complete the approval process. Private landowners were gracious in allowing access to their property for water collection and performing in situ experiments. Thanks especially to John Iberlin and Tom Harriet who allowed access repeatedly over the years. Fidelity Exploration and Production Company allowed access to their property during sample collection from their outflow. This project would not have been possible without funds provided by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The collaborative process with all of the members of Aquatic Task Group, formed under the Powder River Interagency Working Group, was instrumental as they provided suggestions for study design and focus throughout the project. Mixing zone studies could not have been completed without Tom Cleasby, Colleague, U.S. Geo- logical Survey who provided assistance in the field and with data interpretations. Brad Mueller, U.S, Geological Survey, provided technical assistance during the fathead minnow experiments. Darren Rhea, U.S. Geological Survey assisted with the presence/absence data collection and compilation. Luke May, U.S. Geological Survey provided assistance with data quality assurance and table construction. The suggestions provided by Kevin Buhl, U.S. Geological Survey were very valuable for the completion of this report. v Volume Contents 1. Introduction: The Potential Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate, a Major Constituent of Produced Waters from Coalbed Natural Gas Production, on Aquatic Life ........................1 2. The Acute Toxicity of Sodium Bicarbonate Defined Under Laboratory Conditions ..........9 3. The Chronic Toxicity of Sodium Bicarbonate Defined Under Laboratory Conditions .....39 4. The Potential Toxicity Defined In Situ and Streamside in the Powder River and Tongue River Basins .................................................................................................................................61 5. Presence/Absence of Native and Non-native Species in the Powder and Tongue River Watersheds .......................................................................................................................79 6. Summary and Sample Calculations for Water-Quality Criteria ...........................................93 vi Conversion Factors, Abbreviations, and Datums SI to Inch/Pound Multiply By To obtain Length centimeter (cm) 0.3937 inch (in.) millimeter (mm) 0.03937 inch (in.) meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi) kilometer (km) 0.5400 mile, nautical (nmi) meter (m) 1.094 yard (yd) Volume liter (L) 33.82 ounce, fluid (fl. oz) liter (L) 2.113 pint (pt) liter (L) 1.057 quart (qt) liter (L) 0.2642 gallon (gal) microliter (µL) 3.382 x 10-5 ounce, fluid (fl. oz) 2.113 x 10-5 pint (pt) 1.057 x 10-5 quart (qt) 0.2642 x 10-5 gallon (gal) liter (L) 61.02 cubic inch (in3) Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows: °F=(1.8×°C)+32 Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) as follows: °C=(°F-32)/1.8 Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). Altitude, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum. Specific conductance is given in microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius (µS/cm at 25°C). Concentrations of chemical constituents in water are given either in milligrams per liter (mg/L) or micrograms per liter (µg/L). NOTE TO USGS USERS: Use of hectare (ha) as an alternative name for square hectometer (hm2) is restricted to the measurement of small land or water areas. Use of liter (L) as a special name for cubic decimeter (dm3) is restricted to the measurement of liquids and gases. No prefix other than milli should be used with liter. Metric ton (t) as a name for megagram (Mg) should be restricted to commercial usage, and no prefixes should be used with it. Introduction: The Potential Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate, a Major Constituent of Produced Waters from Coalbed Natural Gas Production, on Aquatic Life By Aïda M. Farag, Don Skaar, and David D. Harper Chapter 1 of The Potential Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate, a Major Constituent of Produced Waters from Coalbed Natural Gas Production, on Aquatic Life Edited by Aïda M. Farag and David D. Harper Prepared in cooperation with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5008 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Contents History .............................................................................................................................................................3 Data Gaps ........................................................................................................................................................4 General Study Design....................................................................................................................................5 References Cited............................................................................................................................................7 Figures 1–1. Diagram showing approaches needed to define the potential effects of NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate) at both the individual and population levels, and to move the understanding from the laboratory to the field ........................................................................4 1–2. Map showing the locations of the Tongue and Powder River Basins in the Tongue River/Powder River watershed of eastern Wyoming and Montana ....................................6 Table 1–1. Experiments completed