Yesterday, Carrizo Oil & Gas dumped 3 tanker truckloads of “black, kerosene smelling fluid in the sludge pit, an unlined sludge pit!” The sludge pit is right behind Jana DeGrand’s and Jennifer Cole’s houses.
Last week, I spoke with the V.P. of Operations, Braden Exploration. He explained that I shouldn’t worry that sludge pits in Texas aren’t lined because they dump drilling mud into the pits before using them which seals them. There are so many problems with this scenario that I hardly know where to begin.
- If dumping something into the bottom of something would keep that something from leaking or prevent leaching, then I should be able to place a rubber mat on the floor of my living room and take a bath without water flowing all over the place. (How dumb do they think we are? How dumb are the people at the regulating agency that is charged with protecting our water?)
- Take a gander at what’s in drilling mud: (from OGAP)
So, I’m supposed to feel better about all the other crap they dump in a sludge pit because they first dump in drilling mud? Hmm…hardly!
Consider these quotes from an article in the Mineral Wells Index.
According to the Railroad Commission inspector’s report of the visit Friday, an unlined work-over pit, measuring 21 feet long, 15 feet wide and 6 feet deep, was receiving oil and gas well produced water from the broken casing.
…
Geer was told to line the pit with plastic or steel containment and to flush the stream until the water tested normal, according to the report.“We didn’t know it had to be lined,” Gunter said.
By 4 p.m. Friday, a crew had arrived with plastic to line the pit, according to the report.
…
David Bullock with Industrial Fabrics supplies geo-membrane liners, made of high-density polyethylene, to companies to line oil and gas containment and frac pits.Bullock said any company not lining a tank is “looking at cutting corners and not spending pennies when ultimately they could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for environmental clean up.”
“We see it all the time, contractors try to take a little short cut and it ends up costing them more than they tried to save,” Bullock said.
Information about pit pollution from OGAP.
The Endocrine Disruption Exchange’s study on Sludge Pits
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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Mud is not so toxic if is used for drilling 2…3 days .. This is usual the case of water well drilling. In case of oil drilling i think some protection roules should be made . On a 2 km diameter circle all water well (private or public) should be stopped from pumping.