Injecting the massive amounts of fracking waste underground not a good solution.

The alternate title for this post: I told you so.

This is no surprise to those of us who live in the gas patch but… Disposing of the massive amounts of liquid waste generated from fracking and producing natural gas into underground formations is not a good idea.

Abrahm Lustgarten just released a four part investigative series:

Injection Wells
The Hidden Risks of Pumping Waste Underground

“In 10 to 100 years we are going to find out that most of our groundwater is polluted,” said Mario Salazar, an engineer who worked for 25 years as a technical expert with the EPA’s underground injection program in Washington. “A lot of people are going to get sick, and a lot of people may die.”

Ten years is not very far away folks. And as I type these words they are poking even more holes with break-neck speed and creating even more waste that requires disposal. The Texas Railroad Commission brags about their ability to quickly permit new wells but they can’t seem to bother with inspecting the existing ones or with enforcing the current laws.

The article goes on to suggest that the alternatives to injection aren’t all that great.

Many scientists and regulators say the alternatives to the injection process — burning waste, treating wastewater, recycling, or disposing of waste on the surface — are far more expensive or bring additional environmental risks.

The real alternative is to get us off dirty fossil fuels and STOP THE FRACK ATTACK then our waste disposal requirements will be greatly diminished. So, what’s the hold up with that? Oh yeah, for some reason there is no political will in this country to protect our water, air and keep families safe.

Please help us create that political will.

P.S. Louisiana ships all their drilling waste to Texas for disposal.