United States Office of Water EPA-821-R-15-003 Environmental Protection Washington, DC 20460 March 2015 Agency Technical Development Document for Proposed Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for Oil and Gas Extraction Technical Development Document for Proposed Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for Oil and Gas Extraction EPA-821-R-15-003 March 2015 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water (4303T) Washington, DC 20460 Acknowledgements and Disclaimer This document was prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency. Neither the United States Government nor any of its employees, contractors, subcontractors, or their employees make any warrant, expressed or implied, or assume any legal liability or responsibility for any third party’s use of or the results of such use of any information, apparatus, product, or process discussed in this report, or represents that its use by such party would not infringe on privately owned rights. Questions regarding this document should be directed to: U.S. EPA Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T) 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20460 (202) 566-1000 iii Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER A. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1 Background on Oil and Gas Extraction .............................................................................. 1 2 Existing Discharge Regulations for Oil and Gas Extraction Facility Wastewater ............. 3 2.1 Federal Regulations ................................................................................................ 3 2.2 State Pretreatment Requirements That Apply to UOG Extraction Wastewater .............................................................................................................. 9 3 Related Federal Requirements .......................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER B. BACKGROUND ON UNCONVENTIONAL OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION ........................ 15 1 Overview of UOG Resources ........................................................................................... 15 1.1 How UOG Resources Were Formed..................................................................... 18 1.2 Geological Characteristics of UOG Resources ..................................................... 19 2 UOG Well Development Process ..................................................................................... 20 2.1 UOG Well Drilling and Construction ................................................................... 21 2.2 UOG Well Completion ......................................................................................... 24 2.3 Production ............................................................................................................. 29 3 UOG Well Drilling and Completion Activity ................................................................... 30 3.1 Historical and Current UOG Drilling Activity ..................................................... 30 3.2 UOG Resource Potential ....................................................................................... 34 3.3 Current and Projections of Future UOG Well Completions ................................. 35 CHAPTER C. UNCONVENTIONAL OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION WASTEWATER VOLUMES AND CHARACTERISTICS ......................................................................................... 37 1 Fracturing Fluid Characteristics ........................................................................................ 39 1.1 Base Fluid Composition ........................................................................................ 39 1.2 Additives ............................................................................................................... 40 1.3 Fracturing Fluids ................................................................................................... 44 2 UOG Extraction Wastewater Volumes ............................................................................. 44 2.1 UOG Extraction Wastewater Volumes by Resource and Well Trajectory ........... 45 2.2 UOG Produced Water Volumes by Formation ..................................................... 50 3 UOG Extraction Wastewater Characterization ................................................................. 55 3.1 Availability of Data for UOG Extraction Wastewater Characterization .............. 55 3.2 UOG Extraction Wastewater Constituent Categories ........................................... 56 3.3 UOG Produced Water Characterization Changes over Time ............................... 75 CHAPTER D. UOG EXTRACTION WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL PRACTICES ............................................................................................................. 77 iv Table of Contents CONTENTS (Continued) Page 1 Overview of UOG Extraction Wastewater Management and Disposal Practices ............ 77 2 Injection into Disposal Wells ............................................................................................ 84 2.1 Regulatory Framework for Underground Injection .............................................. 84 2.2 Active Disposal Wells and Volumes .................................................................... 85 2.3 Underground Injection Considerations ................................................................. 86 3 Reuse/Recycle in Fracturing ............................................................................................. 87 3.1 Reuse/Recycle Strategies ...................................................................................... 89 3.2 Reuse/Recycle Drivers .......................................................................................... 92 3.3 Other Considerations for Reuse/Recycle .............................................................. 96 4 Transfer to CWT Facilities ............................................................................................... 98 4.1 Types of CWT Facilities ....................................................................................... 98 4.2 Active CWT Facilities Accepting UOG Extraction Wastewater ........................ 100 5 Discharge to POTWs ...................................................................................................... 102 5.1 POTW Background and Treatment Levels ......................................................... 103 5.2 History of POTW Acceptance of UOG Extraction Wastewater ......................... 106 5.3 How UOG Extraction Wastewater Constituents Interact with POTWs ............. 111 CHAPTER E. REFERENCE FLAGS AND LIST ............................................................................... 146 CHAPTER F. APPENDICES ......................................................................................................... 161 Appendix F.1 Reference Files in FDMS............................................................................... 161 Appendix F.2 UOG Resource Potential by Shale and Tight Formations ............................. 172 Appendix F.3 Constituent Concentrations over Time in UOG Produced Water from Marcellus and Barnett Shale Formations .................................................................. 175 v List of Tables LIST OF TABLES Page Table A-1. Summary of State Regulations ....................................................................................11 Table B-1. Characteristics of Reservoirs Containing UOG and COG Resources .........................20 Table B-2. Active Onshore Oil and Gas Drilling Rigs by Well Trajectory and Product Type (as of November 8, 2013) ...................................................................................33 Table B-3. UOG Potential by Resource Type as of January 1, 2012 ............................................35 Table C-1. Sources for Base Fluid in Hydraulic Fracturing ..........................................................40 Table C-2. Fracturing Fluid Additives, Main Compounds, and Common Uses............................41 Table C-3. Most Frequently Reported Additive Ingredients Used in Fracturing Fluid in Gas and Oil Wells from FracFocus (2011-2013) .........................................................43 Table C-4. Median Drilling Wastewater Volumes for UOG Horizontal and Vertical Wells in Pennsylvania ............................................................................................................47 Table C-5. Drilling Wastewater Volumes Generated per Well by UOG Formation .....................48 Table C-6. UOG Well Flowback Recovery by Resource Type and Well Trajectory ....................49 Table C-7. Long-Term Produced Water Generation Rates by Resource Type and Well Trajectory .....................................................................................................................50 Table C-8. Produced Water Volume Generation by UOG Formation ...........................................51 Table C-9. Availability of Data for UOG Extraction Wastewater Characterization .....................55 Table C-10. Concentrations of Select Classical and Conventional Constituents in UOG Drilling Wastewater from Marcellus Shale Formation Wells .....................................57 Table C-11. Concentrations of Select Classical and Conventional Constituents in UOG Produced Water ............................................................................................................58 Table C-12. Concentrations of Select Anions and Cations Contributing