2016-14901: Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing a final Clean Water Act (CWA) regulation that protects human health, the environment and the operational integrity of publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) by establishing pretreatment standards that prevent the discharge of pollutants in wastewater from onshore unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction facilities to POTWs. UOG extraction wastewater can be generated in large quantities and contains constituents that are potentially harmful to human health and the environment. Certain UOG extraction wastewater constituents are not typical of POTW influent wastewater and can be discharged, untreated, from the POTW to the receiving stream; can disrupt the operation of the POTW (e.g., by inhibiting biological treatment); can accumulate in biosolids (sewage sludge), limiting their beneficial use; and can facilitate the formation of harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs). Based on the information collected by EPA, the requirements of this final rule reflect current industry practices for onshore unconventional oil and gas extraction facilities. Therefore, EPA does not project that the final rule will impose any costs or lead to pollutant removals, but will ensure that current industry best practice is maintained over time.
The agency’s own summary, as published.
What this changes
Amends 1 part of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.
Rulemaking docket
We haven’t pulled this rulemaking’s full docket yet. View docket EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0598 on Regulations.gov →
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