Where is wastewater going? Injection?

GreenHunter Disputes Coast Guard Assertion Over Barging Drilling Waste

From the Article by John McCabe, Wheeling Intelligencer, February 5, 2015

Wheeling, WV — The debate between GreenHunter Water and the U.S. Coast Guard over shipping fracking wastewater along the Ohio River appears to come down to just how the waste is classified.

GreenHunter Water, a publicly traded company, this morning filed a regulatory statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicating the company classifies its fracking waste as “oil field waste,” not “shale gas extraction wastewater.” This distinction, the company asserts, will allow it to barge drilling waste on the Ohio River under a Coast Guard regulation from 1987.

The company informed its investors during an earnings conference call last week that it had received approval to ship the waste.

The Coast Guard on Wednesday said that it was still deciding whether to allow the barging of “shale gas extraction wastewater,” but did not address whether the waste could be considered oil field waste.

“We are committed to ensuring proper research with regards to shale gas extraction wastewater maritime transportation before approving any request to transport shale gas extraction wastewater,” Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Chad Saylor said.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Joe Klinker this morning reiterated that statement, noting there was no update following GreenHunter’s filing.

In its regulatory filing, GreenHunter made the following statement:

“In response to the U.S. Coast Guard recently making statements to certain media outlets that it has not given the company clearance to ship wastewater by barge along the Ohio River, the company states that on Oct. 2, 2014, the company received a letter from Mr. R.V. Timme, captain in the U.S. Coast Guard, providing specifically that for any cargo that contains oil field waste, the cargo must be transported in accordance with Navigation and Inspection Circular 7-87. One of the definitions of oil field waste contained in NCIV 7-87 is “salt water (produced brine or produced water). May contain oil.

“Any and all cargo to be transported by the company on the Ohio River will be cargo classified as ‘oil field waste’ as defined by NCIV 7-87 and other applicable regulations and not as ‘shale gas extraction wastewater.’ Oil field waste is what the company handles on a daily basis in regards to transportation and disposal at its various SWD facilities.”

The NCIV 7-87 was issued on Oct. 13, 1987, titled “Guidance on Waterborne Transport of Oil Field Wastes.” A message left this morning for Capt. Timme at the Coast Guard’s Louisville office was not immediately returned.

GreenHunter has maintained Coast Guard approval is the roadblock preventing the company from further pursuing their planned porting area in the Warwood section of Wheeling.

“The U.S. Coast Guard approval is a significant win for both GreenHunter Resources and our valued clients,” company Chief Operating Officer Kirk Trosclair said January 26. “Our ability to transport disposal volumes via barge will significantly reduce our costs, improve our margins and allow us to pass along savings to our clients.”

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Warwood Wheeling Hiking Trail & Storage Tanks

GreenHunter Still Eyes Panhandle for Pipeline

From an Article by Ian Hicks, Wheeling Intelligencer, July 12, 2014

WHEELING – The destination point for GreenHunter Resources’ planned pipeline to carry water, brine and hydrocarbons through Pennsylvania and West Virginia to the Ohio River will be somewhere in the Northern Panhandle, according to its vice president of business operations, John Jack.

But Jack, citing ongoing right-of-way negotiations, said he cannot yet reveal the exact endpoint of the proposed pipeline, which would be built and owned by a Michigan firm, with GreenHunter having exclusive access to the 270,000-barrel-per-day system. GreenHunter purchased the former Seidler’s Oil Service property in Warwood in March 2013 with plans to build a facility to handle condensate, recycle wastewater from natural gas drilling operations and barge the material from the Wheeling facility.

Although the Wheeling site is a potential destination for the pipeline, Jack said GreenHunter may be looking to acquire additional riverfront property elsewhere in the Northern Panhandle. He declined to comment further.

The GreenHunter Resources’ proposed site for a frack water recycling plant along the Ohio River in Warwood remains quiet as the company awaits word on whether the U.S. Coast Guard will allow barging of such material on the nation’s rivers.

Plans for the pipeline call for construction to begin early next year and for the system to be fully operational by the beginning of 2016. The system would consist of three pipelines – one each to transport fresh water, brine and hydrocarbons – from two undisclosed collection points, one in southwestern Pennsylvania and another in northern West Virginia.

GreenHunter’s plan to transport frack water by barge has drawn opposition from environmental groups who fear for the safety of their drinking water, including in Wheeling, where a group calling itself the Wheeling Water Warriors has vocally opposed the proposed Warwood plant. GreenHunter’s June 27 application to the Army Corps of Engineers to build a barge docking facility in Meigs County, Ohio, already has drawn fire from concerned residents and local officials.

But Jack points out that potentially harmful materials such as gasoline, diesel fuel and hydrochloric acid are transported on the nation’s rivers every day, and he maintains barging offers a low accident rate and helps keep heavy trucks from damaging roadways.

The proposed pipeline system is another way to reduce the number of trucks on the road, Jack said.

Although the Wheeling Planning Commission has approved the first phase of GreenHunter’s plan for the Warwood facility, Jack said the company continues to wait for the U.S. Coast Guard to rule whether it will allow barges to carry fracking waste on the nation’s inland waterways before beginning construction at the Wheeling site. The agency has received tens of thousands of comments on the issue and has yet to announce a timeline for issuing a ruling.

“Every indication is they’re coming close to finalizing a proposed policy,” Jack said.

Although the company remains in a wait-and-see mode, Jack said a ruling by the Coast Guard prohibiting the barging of frack waste on rivers wouldn’t prevent the company from moving forward in Wheeling.

“We’re currently trucking the material anyway,” he said of the company’s existing operations, which include a facility along Ohio Route 7 in New Matamoras.