On October 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a schedule by which it will develop effluent limitation guidelines, or standards, for wastewater discharges from natural gas extraction from coal bed and shale formations. The extraction practice most commonly used is known as hydraulic fracturing. Currently, drillers are prohibited from discharging the wastewater, which is a byproduct of hydraulic fracturing, into navigable waters. While many shale gas drillers recycle or reuse the water, much of the wastewater is transported to treatment plants that are not equipped to treat this type of wastewater. Some states may have standards for shale gas wastewater. With regard to coal bed methane, the wastewater from these operations is currently regulated by the states but there are not federal standards. EPA will be developing uniform national standards for both types of wastewater. Because EPA already has extensive data on coal bed methane, it will be able to publish that proposed rule in 2013 and the shale gas proposed rule in 2014.

Additionally, on October 18, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson announced that EPA does not intend to revise air quality standards for coarse particulate matter, PM-10 (also known as nuisance dust), as part of a forthcoming proposed rule on national ambient air quality standards. Several members of Congress expressed concern to Administrator Jackson that as part of EPA’s ongoing five year review of air quality standards the agency would strengthen requirements for PM-10, which could have resulted in dust from sources like farms, unpaved roads and construction falling under regulation under the Clean Air Act. EPA is still evaluating whether to revise its standards for fine particulate matter, PM-2.5.

Link: EPA Announcement on Farm Dust