Keep ban on discharge of treated oilfield wastewater in NM

Currently in New Mexico, oil companies want to treat produced waters for surface discharge into local drainage watersheds. Water is a misnomer for the viscous liquid that accompanies oil drilled from a well and contains more salt than sea water. Environmental impacts from surface discharge could be enormous, especially since the composition of the PW are unknown.

Under the tenure of Paul Templet, former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and current New Mexico resident, Louisiana banned surface discharges of PW for several reasons:

• Polluting companies propose “dilution” as a solution, but LDEQ found that PW does not dilute easily. Instead they sink to the bottom of the receiving water body and kill bottomdwelling life for large distances.

• PW contain radioactive materials like radium that concentrate in pipe scale. To remove the built-up scale, oilfield pipes slated for reuse are sent to a “rattling yard” for reaming out the “hot” scale. The workers were exposed to radioactive dust with no knowledge. In addition to breathing large quantities of radioactive dust, the workers were wading in inches of that dust. • PW contain heavy metals and organic compounds (Benzene, for example) that are toxic to humans. Dangerous levels of heavy metals concentrate in pipe scale and treatment process streams.

Prior to the ban on surface discharge, used radioactive pipes were often donated to local communities. LDEQ found that a child sitting on such a hot pipe would receive a year’s worth of radiation in one hour. Local governments were not informed about the radiation in the pipes.

Paul Templet, Ph.D., is former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. He lives in Ranchos de Taos. This My Turn reflects his public comment to the state Water Quality Control Commission, which advanced a petition to allow 13 counties to reuse treated produced water in construction, industrial and, potentially, agricultural applications.