"Within a year, Oklahoma could get approval from EPA to start issuing permits that will allow the oil industry to dispose of briny oil field waste in waterways, alarming environmentalists and making it the first of three Southwestern states to step into a thorny regulatory landscape closely watched by the industry.

If it catches on, the plan could help the oil industry cope with a growing waste disposal problem — one exacerbated by industry-linked earthquakes. And it could boost a multibillion-dollar industry that has grown up to manage oil field wastewater. But environmentalists are warning that the industry could wind up polluting waterways by releasing the treated water before it fully understands what's in the fluid.

Once the wastewater is handed off to other users or allowed into surface water, "we can't bring those discharges back," said Nichole Saunders, a senior attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund's Climate and Energy Program."

Mike Lee reports for EnergyWire November 13, 2019. [2]