--> Update on Environmental Issues Raised by Litigants Related to Injection for Disposal

AAPG ACE 2018

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Update on Environmental Issues Raised by Litigants Related to Injection for Disposal

Abstract

This presentation reviews environmental issues raised in recent lawsuits by litigants opposing hydrofracturing and provides a technical update on what we know and don’t know about the issues and claims. This paper presents a summary of the most recent seismic monitoring and interpretation of data and the growing consensus refuting that the seismic data is related to hydrofracturing, but is induced seismicity related to large volume salt water injection. This paper provides an update on selected examples of recent litigation in the United States, including a case in Texas associated with the release of hydrogen sulfide as well as recent US Supreme Court rulings. This paper also provides highlights of recent U.S. EPA and Canadian-sponsored HSE research regarding escape of pollutants and gases from injection zones and compares them with the facts in the Texas case. This paper adds recent pertinent information to that presented in previous papers in this series, including an overview of recent technological developments (such as remote monitors, drone surveys and ground water baseline networks) and safe HSE practices successfully employed to facilitate permitting.