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Effluent Guidelines
Coalbed Methane Extraction
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
Request for Comment on Coalbed Methane Extraction Sector Questionnaire
EPA 821-F-08-001; January 2008
EPA is requesting comment on a questionnaire of the coalbed methane extraction sector. Comments are due to EPA within 60 days of publication of the Federal Register Notice.
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), EPA is planning to submit a proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This is a request for a new collection of data from coalbed methane extraction facilities. EPA is considering an ICR to help complete a detailed study of these facilities that discharge produced waters as part of their extraction process. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request.
- Background
- About this Proposed Information Collection
- Environmental and Public Health Benefits
- Burden of this ICR
- How to Get Additional Information
Background
The Clean Water Act (CWA) directs EPA to develop regulations, called effluent guidelines, to limit the amount of pollutants that are discharged to surface waters or to sewage treatment plants.
Coalbed methane (CBM) extraction activities accounted for about 10 percent of the total U.S. natural gas production in 2004 and is expanding in multiple basins across the United States. EPA's effluent guidelines do not currently regulate pollutant discharges from CBM extraction operations.
CBM extraction requires removal of large amounts of water from underground coal seams before CBM can be released. CBM wells typically have a distinctive production cycle characterized by an early stage when large amounts of water are produced to reduce reservoir pressure which in turn encourages release of gas; a stable stage when quantities of produced gas increase as the quantities of produced water decrease; and a late stage when the amount of gas produced declines and water production remains low. Pollutants often found in these wastewaters include chloride, sodium, sulfate, bicarbonate, fluoride, iron, barium, magnesium, ammonia, and arsenic.
EPA identified the CBM sector as a candidate for a detailed study in the final 2006 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan (71 FR 76656; December 21, 2006;) and also announced plans to develop an industry questionnaire to support this detailed study. EPA is conducting the study to determine if it would be appropriate to initiate an effluent guidelines rulemaking for the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category (40 CFR 435) to control pollutants discharged in CBM produced water.
About this Proposed Information Collection
EPA plans to collect information from coalbed methane extraction facilities to determine if effluent guidelines are required to control the discharge of pollutants into surface waters of the United States and to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). If approved, the information collection would collect detailed information from about 400 facilities, with questions about source water characteristics, residuals management techniques, costs, and financial data.
EPA is requesting comment on this information collection to further refine the questionnaires before submitting them to OMB for review and approval. Comments can include data submissions and can address any aspect of this collection, including EPA's estimate of the respondent burden and the utility of the requested information.
Environmental and Public Health Benefits
This ICR will provide EPA with preliminary technical and environmental data needed to quantify any adverse environmental impacts of the discharges of produced waters from coalbed methane extraction facilities, evaluate the effectiveness of treatment technologies, determine the incremental pollutant removals, and develop compliance costs and economic impacts for a range of possible wastewater management options that could be considered in a subsequent proposed rule, if EPA decides at a later date it is appropriate.
Burden of this ICR
EPA estimates the total industry burden of this ICR at 65,100 burden hours. The total industry burden assumes an average respondent burden of 163 hours to complete the detailed questionnaire. In this case, burden refers to the amount of time EPA expects various respondents would need to read the questionnaire instructions, collect the requested data, and make the necessary certifications to the submission's accuracy.
How to Get Additional Information
For further information regarding the questionnaires, please contact the 304(m) Plan Project Manager for more information.
The proposed questionnaire can be found at Regulations.gov where, in addition to reviewing the questionnaire, you may access the index listing the contents of the docket and submit comments. The ID of the docket for the coalbed methane detailed study is EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0771. The Federal Register Notice and the questionnaires can also be found.